By Eddie Onuzuruike
The blowing of the wind has been proverbially known to reveal the hidden rump of the hen. There is what the Igbos call “egbeonu” which may go for empty boasts, saber rattling and other antics to impress or cajole opponents in battles and other struggles.
Political Party struggles come with claims and counter claims. At early election jostling like now, there is no barometer to verify such claims and hot airs. Even candidates and parties that are sure of failure conceal their hunches and outdo others in the theatrics. You may take this to be very uncharitable. Yes! From their fruit you know them. This is an old saying as old as time.
This instability of different parties is not helped by our ethnicity which may make most parties strong and others vulnerable. These once posed some problems that the electoral bodies immediately after the civil war banned the existence of some parties seen to be regional parties because they could not attract votes off their immediate neighborhood and language shores.
Earlier than now, the parties recognized these facts a long time ago and sought ways, evolved strategies and implanted stratagems to strengthen themselves. For instance, the coalescing of different parties to form APC from ACN, ANPP and other nondescript parties was to lift themselves from the morass of ethnicity and upgrade to National identity status and so be able to challenge the behemoth PDP. In spite of these desperate efforts, there are visibly some no go areas for some parties.
APC, UPP and APGA cannot rise to majority presence in eastern parts of this country.
As is obvious, these paperweight parties lack the means to operate and fund parties. The leader of APGA in Anambra state boldly stated that in the last governorship election, that they disqualified some people because they didn’t have the pecuniary capacity to fund their elections. Most of these parties are so poor in cash and following that they refuse to present presidential candidates, and in order to remain relevant, adopt the presidential candidates of other parties, even when they are ideological opposites. This may not be strange, as it is still practiced in some countries like Israel where Likud and Labor go into marriage of strange bed fellows to form cabinets.
In Abia, such sabre rattling is assuming a higher crescendo with APGA and APC in hot air claims of untested and unquantified strength. Some dark horses who cannot afford to put advertorials in papers are taking easy routes.
One unknown scrooper who claims to be working up for the Abia guber seat cannot tell the public how he will run the office rather, he goes into surrogacy with the former governor who is willing to offer free spaces in his news outfit.The most worrisome is that this aspirant can hardly win a councilor seat in his Arochukwu home where he has not spent a night for over twenty years. He would only be satisfied with bearing a reference of being an unsuccessful guber attempted. A lot others find themselves in this category no matter how obscure the party is.
APGA has started challenging Chief T.A.Orji on papers. They are taking refuge in the situation between the former Governor who has refused to be comforted having lost in his overzealous bid to rule by proxy and so has sworn to destabilize Abia and the present governor.
Ochendo is clearly on his way out, so why target him constantly if you actually want to win the election. Is Chief T.A.Orji running for Governorship? The much of what we know of elections and candidates are that campaigns should be issue-based, expounding what magic wands the aspirants have to lift the people and help the populace. Again, character comes into question. That Abia made the mistake of electing one wrong person does not mean that we stumble on the same stone two times.
A few weeks ago, there was a by election in Aba that replaced the late member in Aba South State Constituency. In a stunning result, the Aba South Housewife, Mrs Iheasinmuo, hitherto little known in the political circles, trounced the other parties indicating that PDP has no visible opposition in Abia.
Before the said election, APGA and APC raised hell and promised heaven on earth to the electorate but caved in for the untested. APGA and APC failed woefully and if it were in 1950s and 1960s, they would have lost their deposits.
In truth, I will recommend payment of deposits by parties and candidates. Such could act as restraint to candidates and parties who are aware of their poor strength and decide to gamble to the point of constituting political nuisance.
For APC and APGA, there is no harm in trial, but constant poor showing in elections like the last experience in Aba are enough to tell them that they have no place in Abia State. They could save their gun powder and go to states where they may be lucky.
The above is not only in politics, it exists in business where feasibility studies are recommended for people to decide how, when and where to invest.
In economics, there are valid points for location of industries like proximity to power, raw materials and labor.
These parties that are visibly hanging on political strands and hot airs should disengage or relocate.
The atrocious publications by the former governor is a signpost, urging any who can insult the incumbent Governor to win a space in his inglorious outfits.
If the truth be told, APGA is cruising to extinction. Those who are supposed to fight for them, having won on the platform of APGA, have deserted and now are carousing with APC and PDP members. APGA previously basked on Ojukwu’s back and now, Chief Victor Umeh easily runs to Ojukwu’s grave to arouse Igbo sympathy. Only God knows how warm his relationship is with Ojukwu’s widow. Chekwas Okorie, arch rival of Umeh, could not take the heat in the kitchen and so retreated and now cocooned in UPP, a party colder than Siberia.
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APC in Abia is torn apart by the impossible titans of Apugo, Ikechi Emenike and other political pawns. Chief Onyemobi who was at the forefront has retreated, unable to manage the naughty-haughty chieftains.
From their fruits we know them and from their deeds we rate them!