Anambra Governorship Elections 2017, The Winners and Losers

Anambra Governorship Elections 2017, The Winners and Losers

Winners

1. Ndi Anambra - the people of Anambra should be the ultimate winners of the elections. They came out in appreciable numbers to cast their ballot despite the calls to boycott the elections by IPOB and the heavy police presence. The turnout was lower than expected, but those who came out conducted themselves in a dignified way as the election had very low incidences of violence.

2. APGA - the party has demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that Anambra is APGA and APGA is Anambra. They ran a brilliant campaign, which carried Ndi Anambra from the grassroots to the elite. The party was united in electing Obiano after seeing off the irritation of the National Chairmanship tussle between Victor Oye and Martin Agbaso. The message of “Nke a bu Nke anyi!” (This one is our own!) resonates among the Igbo who are struggling to find a political identity within the APC led Nigeria. This victory is the fourth straight governorship victory for APGA in Anambra, each one with a bigger margin than the previous one. What baffles is how this is not translated at the federal level. For all its success at the state level elections, APGA performs very poorly at the Senatorial and House of Reps elections. It is time for the party to break away from the mold of the PDP and have a proper go at federal elections. With the PDP in disarray and on a downward spiral, there is an open space APGA can inhabit. The party should present a candidate for the 2019 elections, matching the PDP and APC by presenting a northern candidate. The aim should be to place a respectable third. This would give the party a strong platform to fight the 2023 elections. The party should be more ambitious and set its sights on other states as a party and not just a contesting platform. I believe the party can mop up the PDP Igbo votes in Lagos state and place at least one member in the Lagos State House of Assembly and possibly the Federal House of Representatives

3. Governor Willy Obiano - Akpokuedike Global got this one. He predicted a landslide and delivered. 21-0 in the three-horse race is no mean feat. He benefitted from a strong APGA coupled with his modest achievements as a governor in a country in recession. He ran on a platform of improved security and prompt payment of salaries. In a country where majority of states owe salaries, a governor who pays salaries, pensions and entitlements promptly is considered a very good one. He had a hard act following the achievements of his predecessor Peter Obi. He was able to create his own identity and highlight his own achievements. Despite his average showing at the Channels Governorship Debate, he was able to demonstrate his understanding of numbers and penchant for financial terminology. It behoves on Ndi Anambra to hold him to account to deliver on the huge mandate given to him

4. President Muhammadu Buhari - the president conducted himself with dignity by not interfering with the electoral process. His visit to Anambra will go a bit of way in repairing his frosty relationship with Ndi Igbo. By restoring the security detail of the governor, he demonstrated that he was going to do what was right despite party affiliation. He came for the APC rally, did what he had to do as a party leader and left. That is how a president should act. 

5. Osita Chidoka - it is hard to understand how someone who placed a very distant 4th and with less than 2% of the votes can be a winner but Chidoka is. Contesting on the platform of the relatively unknown UPP meant that he was a no loss situation. What he succeeded in doing was to raise his profile as a very sound debater and communicator. He ran a good campaign that deployed modern technology and innovative practice. He has positioned himself as one for the future. Luckily, he has age on his side and appeals to the young. He should still be under the age of 55 by 2023 and can do worse than position himself as an Igbo candidate for the presidency then. He would do well to extricate himself from the tag of being an IPOB sympathiser, while he may have thought this would help him politically, it really was of no effect and could come back to hurt him in future.

The Losers

1. Peter Obi - By far the biggest loser in this election was St Peter of Okwute the Cornerstone. Although Oseloka Obaze was the name on the ballot for the PDP, the electorate saw Peter Obi as the contestant and rejected him. He took on Obiano, Umeh, the memory of Ojukwu and APGA and he got a bloody nose. Obi was a very good governor, the best Anambra has ever had. Most Anambrarians know and acknowledge this. His sin was abandoning APGA, a party in which he was a leading light, to join PDP in the dying days of the Jonathan presidency. For a man who comes across as very astute, only he can understand why he scored the political equivalent of an own goal by jumping into a sinking ship. The question is where does he go from here politically? His bad mouthing of Governor Obiano means that he would not be welcome back to APGA. The role he played in the emergence of Oseloka Obaze as the PDP flag bearer earned him many enemies within the party. APC? Somehow, I do not think so. For someone who was touted as a potential Igbo president, he would be lucky to win even a senatorial seat at the present time.

2. PDP - if anybody was in doubt about the decline of the once great PDP, the Anambra result should put his or her doubt to rest. To be beaten by APC in Anambra state to third is not just a poor result, it is a disgrace and an embarrassment. Internal bickering and anti-party activities was the order of the day. The party structures in the state were almost nonexistent as it was mainly the Peter Obi show. Notable party chieftains either took a back seat or out rightly came out to support the opposition as in the case of Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah. The PDP is a party in trouble, they have not been able to make the transition to opposition effectively. The whole Sheriff brouhaha did not help matters and this National Chairmanship tussle will further polarise the party. The way the party is going, 2019 will be a disaster for the once self-acclaimed biggest party in Africa. If as rumoured they are about to welcome Atiku Abubakar to the party and present him as a challenger for President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, the only thing we can all do is be like Uncle Sege and be laughing.

3. APC - Some will say APC did very well to come second and beat the PDP in the very anti-APC Igbo land. They look at the performance of Buhari at the 2015 presidential election and conclude that Tony Nwoye did quite well. It will be wrong to assume so. The APC came second mainly on the strength of Nwoye and his main sponsor Arthur Eze. The APC and its previous incarnations the AC and ACN have always done well in Anambra through the leadership of Dr Chris Ngige. It will be interesting to know how much real effort Ngige put into this election. This result by the APC in Anambra is probably the worst result posted by a ruling party in a state election. Not to even take a single local government with all the Federal might is downright embarrassing. The party seems not to be making any inroads in Igbo land and the calibre of people defecting to the party are not really the most leading of lights. In Anambra, using the likes of Rochas Okorocha of Imo and Yahaya Bello of Kogi as part of your campaign team is a bit of an own goal. These states who are Anambra’s neighbours are in much worse positions and led by APC. They do not give any confidence to Ndi Anambra that an APC government would be any better than the APGA they already have. In a last desperate bid, they unveiled Emeka Ojukwu Jr. as a decampee from APGA. Politically, Ojukwu Jr is no Ikemba, he is not even a Bianca, his electoral value in Anambra is just one, his own vote. 2019 will be interesting for the APC in the South East, all things being equal, the party should lose Imo state without gaining any state but I believe they would make some inroads in the Federal legislature picking off some PDP seats.

4. IPOB - The much-touted boycott of the election fizzled out without as much as a whimper. They promised Foe Nsala to Ndi Anambra and they rejected it for bowls of Jollof rice, Gala and Grand Malt. That boycott was never going to work, not in Anambra in any case. The people love their politics, politicians invest a lot and the economic effect of electioneering campaigns is too much a lure for the electorate. Politics brings an excitement to people’s lives and a break from the mundane. IPOB strategists failed to realise this. The security services also ensured that nobody was able to prevent anybody who wanted to exercise their civic rights. This should further show how overestimated the influence of IPOB is.

Ike Onwubuya writes from Essex, UK

Ethnic Baiting amongst Nigerian Social Media users

Ethnic baiting is gradually becoming a sport by people who you will otherwise think as intelligent. Had a debate about Radio Biafra on someone's wall and some people just chose to ignore my views as an individual but always referred to me as "You guys", "You people" or "Your people". I'm sure if a white person had referred to any of them as "You People" or "Your people" they will be screaming racism and trying to get the person sacked from work or even imprisoned. 

Simply for being an Igbo person i was pre judged and stereotyped before people even tried to understand what point I was trying to make. Its quite unfortunate that a lot of Nigerians of all tribes are quick to notice when a person of a different race is being racist but are oblivious of their own bigotry when it comes to people of a different tribe

Ike Onwubuya

How inmates escaped from Federal Prison in Imo state

Source: https://www.naij.com/1077563-how-inmates-escaped-federal-prison-imo-state.html

There is panic in Owerri, Imo state following a prison break by inmates at a facility in the state.

The inmates, an official said scaled through the fence of the prison facility

A staff of the Federal Prison, Owerri said two inmate serving jail terms scaled the fence of the facility and made an escape.

The staff said the escapees took advantage of an ongoing construction in the facility.

“Their escape has caused serious panic in the prison. There are fears that heads will roll if the convicts are not found.

They scaled the fence, while work was going on in the male section of the prison. We believe that most of the male prisoners planed and facilitated the escape.” he said.

However, prison authorities have launched and investigation into the cause of the escape.

It was also gathered that all efforts have been put in place to apprehend the escapees.

Fulani Herdsmen and repeating mistakes

It's amazing the capacity for Nigeria and Nigerians to make the same mistakes over and over again. Lessons are never learned. Boko Haram was left to grow and fester because rather than dealing with the problem militarily, some chose to look at it as a political problem

Now it's the so called herdsmen. We again stick our heads in the sand thinking it's an ethnic issue or even an agricultural one. It's neither. The situation needs decisive military action to nip it in the bud before it metamorphosis into the Nomadic wing of Boko Haram.

MASSOB expels Uwazuruike, appoints new leader

The leadership crisis rocking the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereignty State of Biafra (MASSOB) has taken a new dimension as the group on Monday expelled its leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, over alleged corruption and deceit. This is even as members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) has warned traders across markets in Aba, Abia State not to open for business today (Tuesday) as they continue their protest calling for the release of the detained leader of the IPOB and Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.

It was gathered that IPOB members visited Ariaria International, Ngwa road, Cemetery and Ekeoha markets with public address system announcing to the traders to shut their shops. Meanwhile, announcing the expulsion of Uwazuruike, MASSOB alleged that since 1999 to 2014, members of the separatist group had contributed over N300 million cash to his account and N200 million also allegedly paid into Zenith Bank Accounts of Confidence Uwazuruike. According to them, the MASSOB leader bought houses in various locations in Owerri, the Imo State capital, as well as 28 plots being part of money contributed by MASSOB members. The group also further alleged that MASSOB members had contributed over N4 billion since its inception 16 years ago which the group alleged that Uwazuruike has converted into personal use.

In a communiqué read by newly elected National Secretary, Mr. Ugwuoke Ibem Ugwoke, at Okigwe, the MASSOB headquarters, the group said the vote of no confidence and total rejection has been passed on Uwazuruike and his leadership of MASSOB. Ugwuoke said Uwazuruike’s inability to maintain Ojukwu’s dream of Biafra Actualisation, deviation into mainstream of Nigeria politics, abandonment of Biafra struggle, using the struggle to enrich himself were some of the reasons for his expulsion from MASSOB.

He said: “The introduction of Biafra International passport was a gross and dubious means he generated about N100 million to himself. The existence of the passport without Biafra sovereignty is illegal, as many who attempted using them were landed into trouble. Today, this passport is useless to thousands of holders even Uwazuruike does not see it”. The MASSOB National Secretary noted that Uwazuruike had continued to romance with some enemies of Ndigbo which posed serious danger to the actualization of Biafra.

Source: http://dailytimes.com.ng/massob-expels-uwazuruike-appoints-new-leader/

Posted by Ike Onwubuya

Social media and Nigeria's new civil war

Nigeria has been on the throes of a virtual civil for the past few years. This war which has pitched brother against brother is fought thankfully not in a battlefield but on social media. The battlegrounds are Facebook, Nairaland, Twitter, to a lesser extent Instagram and other sundry online forums. This war is basically between the Igbos and Yorubas with the other tribes acting as not so innocent bystanders. These two tribes due to their large, enlightened and educated populations dominate the social media sphere in Nigeria. The Niger Deltans and other southern minorities tend to passively support the Igbos, while the Hausas, who are really the target of the Igbo attack, support the Yorubas explicitly. This war have with words as its weapons, have added to the vocabulary such interesting words and phrases as “Zoo”, “Wailing Wailers”, “Ofe Nmanu”, “Biafraud”, “Dullards”, “Elections have been won and lost” amongst other colourful words and phrases.

It's hard to know the origins of this war. Historically, Ndigbo dislike the Hausa/Fulani and distrust the Yorubas. The Yorubas, distrust the Igbos and dislike the Hausas. The Hausas dislike the Igbos and distrust the Yorubas. This circle of dislike and distrust culminated in the Nigerian civil war of 1967-1970 which pitched the Igbos as Biafra against the rest of Nigeria. To a good proportion of Igbos, the Biafra war was between the Igbos and Hausas and they believe they had an agreement from some Yoruba “leaders” to join them in the fight against the Hausas and felt betrayed when these Yoruba “leaders” reneged and instead of being at best neutral, became staunch antagonists.

The advent of social media and its attendant freedom of speech has given a new generation an avenue to vent their spleen and spew the hate that almost destroyed their parent’s generation. This new bitter phase of the war began with the emergence of the All Peoples Congress  (APC). The worst nightmare for an Igbo propagandist is an alliance between the old enemies of Yorubas and Hausas, which is what APC depicts when viewed along Nigeria's ethnic fault lines. The Igbos had adopted the then Nigerian President Goodluck ‘Ebele’ ‘Azikiwe’ Jonathan as one of their own. The fact the Jonathan is from Bayelsa state in the Niger Delta of Ijaw extraction is of little consequence. He is not Yoruba, he is not Hausa/Fulani, he is a Southerner, he is a Christian, his name is Azikiwe, so he is as close to Igbo as you can get without actually being Igbo. The Igbos supported Jonathan and PDP in 2011 and were ready to back him to the hilt in 2015. They viewed any attack on Jonathan as a personal attack on Igbos, the belief was that the Yorubas and Hausa/Fulani are uniting for the sole purpose of kicking out a southern Christian minority. It also didn’t help that a lot of the APC leaders were Muslims. On the Igbo side of social media at the run-up to the election, the APC was often depicted as a Muslim party and even called sponsors of Boko Haram.

The Yoruba protagonists on social media on the hand viewed APC as the best thing since sliced bread. They often made reference to the “cluelessness” of President Goodluck Jonathan, while depicting Buhari as the Messiah in waiting and Bola Tinubu as John the Baptist. A lot of Yorubas felt shortchanged by the Jonathan government and saw the APC as an avenue to get back into the mainstream of Nigerian politics. To do that, they had to demystify and then crush the ruling government and their social media mouthpieces, the Igbos. The Yorubas were the harshest critics of the Jonathan administration on social media and were the propaganda machine behind the APC.

The defeat of the ruling PDP at the 2015 general elections means that there is now a role reversal. The hunter has now become the hunted. Where in the past we had “Jonathan the Clueless” now we have “Buhari the Dullard”. The Igbos on social media have now become the main critics of the Buhari administration for which they have earned the unenviable name of the “Wailing Wailers”, and they in turn call Buhari supporters inmates of the “Zoo”. Only on social media!

Any news on social media can be used as a tool for ethnic points scoring. From the ethnic make-up of the appointments of President Buhari, the long awaited ministerial list, the death of the Ooni of Ife and the “Abobaku” debacle; utterances of Femi Fani-Kayode, the fallout between Super Eagles head coach Sunday Oliseh and his erstwhile captain Vincent Enyeama, even as mundane a topic as the nominees for the Headies awards has the internet ethnic bigots slugging it out.

The emergence of the likes of Nnamdi Kanu, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Radio Biafra has taken this war to whole new level. This internet army complete with facebook pages, Twitter handles, a flag, virtual embassies and even a National Football team have become the greatest social media phenomenon in Nigeria. It is arguable that this group is a match to the very effective APC propaganda that won Buhari the presidency on social media. In Nnamdi Kanu, they have an arrowhead who seems to have captured more young Igbo hearts than his earlier incarnation, Ralph Uwazurike of MASSOB. Kanu with his take no prisoners, no holds barred way of speaking, he has captured the hearts and minds of many an Igbo youth who now believe the Igbos are better off as an independent state than in Nigeria. It is very common to see many Ndigbo signing off their comments with Kanu’s catchphrase “Chukwu Okike Abiama”.

This war will only be fought and lost on social media. It gives a lot of people an avenue to exhibit their innate bigotry. It shows us that Nigerians are not really the most tolerant of people and that from generation to generation, the tribal fault lines on which Nigeria is built has not been repaired. It is alarming that a good number of the hate protagonists on Social Media are products of Unity Schools and the National Youth Service Corps. These were schemes that were initiated foster unity by bringing people of different ethnicities and background together at a younger age. This is to ensure that we have unity in our diversity. These are people who work with and socialise with people of different ethnicities in real life but come on social media to score cheap points. Are these people really ethnic bigots? Some definitely are, but the majority are noisemakers who are enjoying a game of “my tribe is better than yours”. For those beating the drums of war, if you want to test your power, there is Boko Haram to be defeated, your country needs willing soldiers.

Ike Onwubuya writes from the United Kingdom