Peter Obi And The Parable Of The Luxury Bus By Uche Ezechukwu

 

 

 

Last week Tuesday, the who-is-who in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South East trooped to the Onitsha residence of the immediate past governor of Anambra State, to, as it emerged later, plead with him to join their party.

Mr Peter Obi did not disappoint, as he succumbed to their ‘pressure’ and formally declared his intention to become a member of the party.  Obi’s ‘porting’ to PDP has continued to generate a lot of interest, especially in the South East, where some commentators have been reasoning that Mr Obi had abandoned APGA, and had by so doing, reneged on a promise that he was alleged to have made to the Ikemba of Nnewi that he would never leave APGA.

Many knowledgeable political watchers reason that Obi is leaving a tattered and crisis-ridden APGA that is a party only in a name, as all of the federal representatives elected under its banner have moved into PDP or are about to do so. Moreover, the party is said to have become like a personal property of its chairman, Chief Victor Umeh, who is spending his 12th year as the chair of the party whose constitution prescribes a maximum tenure of eight years.

As of today, Chief Maxi Okwu, who, many believe has a very strong case, but for the legal abracadabra that has kept Chief Umeh in position, is still staking his claim for the chairmanship. Even at that, Mr. Obi has complained very loudly that nobody consults him in the affairs of the party, since he left office, even though it is claimed that he was the BoT chairman of the party. 

The only other person who might have a say in the party is Chief Willie Obiano the Anambra State governor, because, as Obi was, he remains the only bankroller of Chief Umeh’s activities in the party. It would hardly be wrong to say that Umeh has completely captured and pocketed the party – his new title, “Ogbunigwe”, unveiled by Mrs Obiano at a national function last week in Awka, gives an indication that, like the great Ojukwu’s home-made bomb, he has subdued everybody else.

The several and endless crises which the party has gone through since its formation have been mostly ego-related, since its maiden constitution had the name of Chief Chekwas Okorie, the foundation chairman, written into it. But since he was ousted by Umeh some 12 years ago, the party has never had another chairman, except for the short interregnum when the Obi faction elected Maxi Okwu. In summary, since Obi moved away from the control of the Anambra coffers, he has been literally shut-out of the affairs of the party. So, those trying to be emotional by insisting that Obi should remain where he is not wanted are being most unrealistic, as that would amount to asking him to stay out in the political cold.

Informed observers have argued that it makes no sense that Obi should remain in APGA that has lost its soul, and where he is neither wanted nor respected, when there is a bigger umbrella where he is being dearly sought after and being sorely missed? That was the big statement that the PDP made last Tuesday. Obi would have been naive not to have jumped at the golden opportunity. Such does not come often in politics.

Again, those that are conversant with Obi’s political philosophy know that he does harbour emotional sentiments towards political parties in Nigeria, especially as none of them is ideologically based. He might be one of those who view the function of a party from its utilitarian point of view. Nigerian parties for him, resemble vehicles that take passengers to their destinations and he, in fact, succinctly once illustrated that view, with the parable of a traveler from Onitsha to Lagos via a Young Shall Grow bus. In Obi’s thinking, there is nothing wrong with the same person opting to get back to Onitsha in an Ekene Dili Chukwu luxury bus if that would be of a better benefit for him and his enterprise. For him, the essence in the choice of the bus is the one that gets you to your destination securely and promptly.  The reasoning that you, as an Nnewi man, should not travel by a bus that is not owned by an Nnewi transporter, does not hold much water in the Obi’s political mind-set. Suppose the bus that is owned by the Nnewi man is defective, crawls and coughs all through the journey?

Today, all types of sentiments are being floated, linking Obi, Ojukwu and APGA, with the intention of creating the impression that Obi might have betrayed Ojukwu’s memory by abandoning the sinking ship called APGA. Yes, Obi might have used Ojukwu’s name and clout to win  his initial election in Anambra State, as he was relatively unknown in political circles, and anybody who was dressed in a uniform with Ojukwu and Biafra was a winner at the time. But when that statement is stripped to its barest bones and we decide to call a spade a spade, it was Peter Obi that had invested his huge personal fortune to stand the party, including Ojukwu, on its feet.

 And in reality, not even the clout of Ojukwu was enough to make Obi triumphant in the 2003 elections as, before everybody’s eyes, including Ojukwu’s, the election was hopelessly rigged by the PDP behemoth in favour of Dr. Chris Ngige. APGA was in veritable doldrums until Obi, after spending tonnes of money in litigation that lasted for almost three years, reclaimed his stolen mandate, and APGA - with Ojukwu et al – sprang to its feet, once more. So, from the benefit of the hindsight, the Ojukwu factor is often and emotionally overplayed and over-stated.

No matter how much one would want to pretend, there was no APGA without Obi since it formed the government in Anambra State and, in spite of the fact that there were many people that accused Obi of not spending the meagre resources of the state in bankrolling the spread of the party across the country, the fact remains that there is ample documentation to prove that the greater percentage of the huge amounts that he gave to the party disappeared into a few private pockets. 

As I have said, Obi believes that a political party in Nigeria is just for the purpose of taking a politician to his destination, and as far as he was concerned, he had two destinations which he never concealed. The first was his determination to make a difference in the governance and development of Anambra State; the next was tied to the first, to wit, to be in the very good books of President Jonathan, to enable him attract better federal attention to the state he was governing.

I was one of the most vitriolic attackers of Governor Obi and his policy of hobnobbing with President Jonathan, especially when APGA adopted the president as a PDP candidate in 2010. I even launched vicious attacks on Obi and other APGA leaders including Amb Bianca Ojukwu, for joining in the trail to approve the candidacy of President Jonathan. But it was Obi who explained me what his strategy had been all about, at a meeting arranged between him and senior Anambra media people by some prominent Anambrarians. That explanation, as to why APGA was scampering after the candidate of another party, by the very humble ex-governor was satisfactory to all that were there, and I stand to be corrected. From the situation on the ground, it would be trite to restate today that the strategy worked out enormously because Anambra State got many considerations that were extended only to PDP controlled states – sometimes even more.

It is also unnecessary to state here that Obi’s competence had since been recognized by all and sundry, to the extent that even without being a PDP member, the president has adopted him as a close adviser and confidant. Not only was his membership of the Economic Management Team a proof of that, but even before he left office as governor, he was severally assured of a ministerial portfolio which party chieftains were later to kick against, as in their reasoning, the position should be reserved for a loyal card carrying member of the ruling party.

Obi has amply proved that he is not one of those greedy and corrupt politicians who have looted their people dry. Anybody can say anything about Obi but it would be difficult to substantiate any accusations of diverting the commonwealth for his personal benefit. If anything, through astute financial management and keen business acumen, Obi attracted a lot of funds and businesses to Anambra State. It is expected that from any other pedestal which his membership of the ruling party would afford him, Mr, Peter Obi is definitely going to use it as an opportunity and avenue to feather the collective feather of his people.

It is hardly necessary to waste words in applauding the wisdom that attended Peter Obi’s departure from APGA for PDP. As the Igbo proverb goes, if those that he left behind in APGA know how to pound, let them pound in the mortar, if not, they are welcome to pound on the floor.

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