The cross is the symbol of the
passion of Jesus Christ in Christendom.
It represents Christ's tribulations,
culminating in his physical bearing of the wooden cross in a procession,
customary to the ancient Roman Empire, derogatorily preserved for thieves and
allied criminals, stoned and jeered at on their way to final execution by tying
their hands and feet, and then nailing them to the cross for a most gruesome
death. It represents excruciating pain, betrayal and abandonment by one's
trusted friends in his moment of great need. Conventionally, people regard
their tribulations and vicissitudes as cross-bearing, especially Christians
whose master and founder redeemed via the cross.
Governor Willie Maduabuchi
Obiano(Akpokuedike), has had his fill of cross-bearing, since his entry into
the murky waters of Nigerian politics. Before his enigmatic return from the
United States of America to join the political race, following the consensus to
zone the governorship to the North Senatorial Zone of Anambra State, an
array of contestants had been paraded by the erstwhile governor, Peter Obi.
Each of the contestants had the firm
promise of Peter Obi, causing confusion and bad blood amongst them. In the rat
race, following the entry of Chief Willie Maduabuchi Obiano,
Akpokuedike, almost at the last minute, there was an almost spontaneous
propaganda of calumny by the candidates, who accused him of numerous
shortcomings. His record of retiring from Fidelity bank where Peter held sway,
did not help matters.
It was easy to presume that Chief Obiano
was therefore the anointed candidate of Peter. In unison, all the candidates,
without exception, accused Chief Obiano of being a stooge and a
lackey of Peter Obi, whom they said was scheming to ensure that his flanks were
covered. They called him a minion and an impostor and an empty vessel that only
made noise and nothing more. They impugned on his character, associating him
with objectionable and obnoxious acts not professional to be repeated here.
This formed the basis for a very disparaging public image, bandied about by
opposing parties and the generality of electorates. For a man of uncommon
pedigree, candour and panache, it was a huge pain in the heart to be so
maligned. An astute accountant, banker and international external auditor for
Texaco worldwide, among others, it was a cross too heavy to bear, especially,
coming from his brothers from Anambra North.
It was not easy to change this wrong
impression about a man upon who destiny has thrust the mantle of leadership of
Anambra State. Resilience is the second nature of born leaders, and so,
undaunted, Willie, as he is fondly called, soldiered on, breaking new grounds
with his oratory, and issue-driven campaign.
A "child" of destiny, Willie won the governorship primaries of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) with a landslide.
In a twist that still
smoulders with a pungent smoke of blood-letting and fratricidal acrimony, the
lingering squabble ignited by Peter, pitching a new National leadership of
APGA, led by Chief Maxi Okwu against the authentic national Chairman Chief Victor
Umeh, became a big cog in the wheel of the party. This faction trumped up an
alternate governorship candidate in the person of Chief Chike
Obidigbo, an industrialist also from Anambra North.
In the heat of this chicanery, came the big surprise of the slim runner-up of the governorship primaries, maverick Mrs Uche Ekwunife, rushing to court to stop the candidature of Chief Obiano, claiming the mandate, on the spurious ground that Chief Obiano was not properly elected, and technically disqualified by double registration. She later, dramatically withdrew the suit, but continued as a black leg of APGA till her carpet-crossing to the People's Democratic Party, thus ending the guess as to where she stood. Peter's desertion on the heels of the defection of Ekwunife and her fellow renegades proves beyond all reasonable doubts that he was the mastermind of Ekwunife’s bold moves to snatch victory from Obiano through the backdoor. Up to the Supreme Court, the alternate APGA candidate, Obidigbo, PDP's Nwoye and APC's Ngige formed an unholy coalition aimed at bringing down Chief Obiano at all costs.
Unfolding events have proved a
deeper betrayal of the authentic APGA by the reprobate leader, Peter Obi.
From the pitching of Okwu as alternate national APGA Chairman against Chief Victor
Umeh because of their (Peter vs Umeh) imbroglio, Obi had decided to throw away
the baby with the bath tub.
Peter's jig saw game stripped him of any authentic claim of being the "god father" of any candidate.
At best, he had played the dangerous game of one shaky leg here and another there, leading to his loss of control and respect.
Before Obiano's swearing in as
governor, Peter literally emptied the state's treasury by indiscriminate award
of contracts, payments, donations and all time employment of Labour at the
twilight of his departure. It was indeed a huge cross for governor Obiano to
watch the state's impoverishment by the outgone megalomaniac Peter. It was also
rumoured that Peter monopolized appointments into the new government by
insisting on prime positions for his cronies.
The cross of all crosses for
governor Obiano was the jumping of ship by Mr Obi almost rocking the boat
of state in search of a "greener pasture" in the PDP, after failing
to clinch the position of Aviation minister, long rumoured to be his in-waiting.
The patient dog eats the
fattest bone. With his focused, non-ambitious determination, governor
Obiano, within so short a time, has set an all high record of turning the state
around with people-oriented projects, devoid of vain glory and showmanship. He
has passed through hard and trying times, abandoned in the lurch too soon, by
his self-styled godfather Peter.
So, without weaning, this
"baby", without crawling, learnt by force, to stand, and indeed,
almost running. This is the very dividend of cross-bearing, a truism of the old
wise saying that there is no CROWN without a CROSS.
AUSTEN CHUDI ANYAEJI
WRITES FROM OKIJA, IHIALA LGA, ANAMBRA STATE
WRITES FROM OKIJA, IHIALA LGA, ANAMBRA STATE
Governor Obiano – Weathering the Storm of Betrayal in Anambra State By Austen Chudi Anyaeji
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
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