Abia State Elections: A Tale Of Two Campaigns
The Ibo's have a complex legacy in the Nigerian political polity. A legacy filled with great accomplishments in all spheres of endeavor but also accompanied by oppression, deprivation, abuse and resilience. Nowhere is this more evident than in Abia state, a state , the inhabitants fondly refer to as “God's own state”, but which however has become more like the “devil's own domain'.
Abia state as one informed observer rightly pointed out is the idiosyncratic sister of the South eastern states. A large part of its idiosyncrasy stemming from having watched, as the last 16 years passed it by, like a people frozen in time. What was supposed to be a hot bed of technological advancement, innovation and socio economic progress moldered and deteriorated under two Governor's, both named ORJI.
Yet there is an embattled dignity in its people. A resilience among the population whose talent for improvisation and for making do with what is at hand has become legendary. When you walk through the streets of Aba, trying the best you can to wade through the stench and piles of rubbish or drive on the roads filled with pot holes as wide as trenches or visit the schools and hospitals devoid of any meaningful presence of required instructional and medical equipment, you get a better appreciation of the people's resilience and fortitude.
It is therefore not surprising that with the approach of the 2015 elections the electorate have become one of the most political aware and conscious of all the states in the Nigerian federation. AbiaState has become a place synonymous with the word change.Where the desire for change has its greatest allure and appeal.
While each of the two major competing parties APGA and PDP have tried to appropriate the change mandate or be seen as the change agent, it could be said that APGA has been more successful in being identified as such than the PDP and the reasons are not far fetched. Having been the party in power for the past 8 years the electorate have come to identify it with failure and incompetence.
It is a perception the APGA candidate Dr Alex Otti has taken full advantage of,to the dismay of his opponent DrIkpeazu who seems to be having a difficult time untying himself from the apron strings of his sponsor, the outgoing governor.
Perception they say is reality and in the case of the Governorship elections in Abia, the PDP candidate is perceived to be a stool of the Governor and his family. He has even become a butt of jokes on social media, where it is rumored that the governor's wife and her son have taken turns in slapping him for not following their instructions and that they have also started complaining about the amount of money spent so far on his campaign without any sign of it gaining traction.
In American politics, a candidate is deemed a goner when he becomes the subject of jokes during late night talk shows. While DrIkpeazu, the PDP candidate is seen as docile, indecisive, incompetent and a follower , his opponent, DrOtti is perceived as competent, experienced , wise, intelligent as well as possessing leadership qualities.
Which brings us to the issue of campaign tactics. If there is one thing a smart politician does in an election campaign, it is to define his opponent before he has the chance to define himself. DrIkpeazu has been so effectively defined by the Otti campaign as incompetent despite having been intelligent enough to earn a PhD, an academic laurel his supporters almost religiously try to remind the electorate of, as if having a PhD is synonymous with competence. Drotti's campaign seem to be setting a template that the Ikpeazu campaign is trying mightily hard to follow. Unfortunately for them it does not matter how hard they try, nothing seems to be working.
A good example is the attempt by both candidates to woo Abia citizens in diaspora. Drotti was the first to recognize the importance and the role this group of Abians could play in the elections even though they physically cannot vote. He visited New York in 2014 and addressed a cross section of them . He later as recently as Feb 1st partook in an international dial in telephone conference with Abians in diaspora from all over the United States, Europe and the far East, estimated at 200,000 to explain to them his vision for the state. Soon after DrIkpeazu followed suit.
Even though the number of people who called in was not as numerous as that of Otti, he did his best to imitate what his opponent had done. Of course, yours truly called in and to say I was disappointed and dismayed is to put it mildly. His answers to the questions were not only repetitious but also lacking in detail. There were too many generalizations in his responses indicating the absence of any original thoughtprocess.
Many references were made to the completion of T. A Orji's legacy projects, hence you start wondering if he had any programs of his own. As he spoke, you could sense in his voice, a man who was not only unprepared but who was unsure of himself. Is Dr Ikpeazu an intelligent man? Yes he is. Its just that on this occasion the man seemed to be way out of his league.
Just when we thought we were done with the telephone conferences, here comes DrUcheEmeUche, the APGA deputy governorship candidate. She again like her principal and unlike the PDP candidate was an embodiment of self assurance, composure , discipline and erudition. She handled all the questions directed at her with the brilliance and detailed articulation of the Political science professor which she is. She was versed in all the major elements of Dr Ott's governing agenda and could not be tripped even when one questioner tried to box her in on the issue of mental health. While we are still waiting for the PDP deputy governorship candidate to follow suit , I must say never in the history of Nigeria's political campaigns has so much attention been bestowed on a group of people who cannot vote. They, Abia citizens in diaspora have become undoubtedly the fair maiden whose hand every suitor seeks in marriage.
With all the state money at their disposal, one continues to wonder why the PDP campaign appears so slow footed, confused and without direction. The answer may lie in the fact that their candidate, DrIkpeazu does not seem to have any powers or full control over his campaign. But then what do you expect, when someone else has the control of the purse. As the saying goes , “he who pays the piper, dictates the tune” .
Being that the out-going Governor is the one financing the campaign with his son in charge, Dr Ikpeazu probably does not have much of any say on how his campaign is run, which to me is a recipe for failure. Just recently not being able to generate enough support and following among the electorate, the Ikpeazu people have resorted to waging a campaign of calumny, insults and abuse. They have secured the services of some hired serial liars like one Madubuko Hart, Onuzuruike and a few others to write spurious articles and to spew their serial vituperations against DrOtti.
First they started with his heritage, saying DrOtti is not a true Ngwa man, even though as we all know DrOtti was born and raised in Ngwaland, went to school there and built a house there and even now as he is campaigning lives there. When that did not gain any traction with the public, they proceeded to attacking him for not earning a PhD to warrant the use of “Dr” before his name as if the man is not smart enough to earn one if he wants to, forgetting that DrOtti was a First class college graduate as well as the best graduating student of his class at the University of Portharcourt.
More recently they have resorted to name calling, referring to him as clueless, a fool and some other choice words they can conjure in addition to leveling against him all sorts of baseless accusations, such as that Alex Otti organized soldiers on his security detail to shoot an assembly legislator or that he is printing fake PVC cards etc. Earlier in the campaign , they hired thugs to tear up APGA posters as if doing so will erase the image of Alex Otti already embedded in the hearts of the people. To their dismay it does appear as if they more they attack him, the more the electorate is attracted and accepting of his prospects of being their governor. It has become very apparent that the Ikpeazu campaign has done all it can to derail or discredit Dr Alex Otti's campaign ,more like throwing spaghetti on the wall hoping some will stick , unfortunately nothing has stuck.
The Abia state Gubernatorial elections, unlike the presidency which Wole Soyinka described as a choice between the devil and the blue sea to borrow his words is going to be one between damnation and salvation and between saints and the devil. That is not to say, DrIkpeazuis the personification of the devil or DrOtti a saint, that we must dress him in angelicclothings, courtesy of Soyinka, its just that while the former is tied as an appendage to the outgoing governor who is reviled by the public, DrOtti on the other hand is seen by the people as a messiah. If the antithesis of democracy is slavery, God knows the Abia people who have been enslaved for the past 16 years will finally have the chance to embrace the opportunity the democratic process will afford them to set themselves free.
With the postponement of the elections, I can sense a feeling of disappointment and resentment in the minds of the Abia electorate as they are impatient and want to get the election over with and start getting ready for a new future with Alex Otti as their governor.I can also sense a feeling of foreboding and fear that the election deferment will afford TA Orji and his group of kleptomaniacs enough time to perfect their plans of stealing the elections. It is therefore no wonder people are beginning to raise alarm and concern about, Local Government Officials hoarding PVC cards and telling prospective voters that someone else have collected their cards as well as some elements from the PDP offering to buy PVC cards.
Considering the fact that the rate of collection of the cards is poor in the state, would it not be prudent for the Governor to declare a one or two day holiday to enable people pick up their cards?. There is cause for concern if these allegations are true, hence those of us in diaspora want the public to be vigilant as we urge them to resist every temptation to sell their cards. It is therefore heartwarming to know that some members of Abia First Organization in the United States have indicated their plans to travel home to help with the elections, an indication of stake Abians here have in this election.
There is no doubt Abians the world over anticipate great things for their state. They want Abia state to be a place where people, even the poor could live productive lives free from crushing anxieties about healthcare, education, transportation, adequate housing , jobs and other social amenities of life. And of course they want theirs to be a state full of prosperous corporations and individuals, their rise manifestly unimpeded in any meaningful way by the stronger social contract. It can be done folks, all we need to do is to choose well in the April elections. Other states like AkwaIbom have done it.
The last 8 years have been like a hamster on a wheel spinning and spinning and not getting anywhere , with an administration that continues to seek exoneration through denial with no evidence of remorse or restitution by the violators of the public trust. But change is coming.No administration in the world has all the solutions to every problem ,but at least come April 11, we will have the chance to elect one that will have our best interest as its guiding principle and its sole purpose for being in power.
NNANNA IJOMAH
A Former Assistant To EmekaOjukwu
Teaches Political Science In New York