By Dr. Godswill Ihechi
The verbal savagery, uninformed criticisms, viscous pillory and unwarranted insults that have trailed the support and endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari by the United Progressive Party (UPP) for the 2019 Presidential election is to deplorable and inappropriate.
This should be condemned by every critical mind who understands that politics or political participation is guided by choice.
Let us recall that in the events leading to the emergence of the candidates for the 2019 general elections, by various political parties, individuals, organisations, civil societies, churches and even political parties exercising their legal political rights, freedom of association and choice, endorsed the candidates of their choice.
It was based on this that the UPP, one of the registered political parties, endorsed President Buhari, the candidate of the All Progressive Candidate (APC) for the presidential election. Given reasons for this, Dr. Chekwas Okorie, National Chairman of the party said: “The decision of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of our party to adopt President Muhammadu Buhari as our candidate for the 2019 presidential election was embraced by all party members without a dissenting opinion in spite of well-known machinations of non-party members who were unsettled by our collective decision to support and campaign for the reelection of President Muhammadu Buhari for the second and final term in office for successfully resisting these agents of destabilization, I duff my hat to all loyal and trusted members of UPP.”
“Our target in throwing our support to President Muhammadu Buhari is to make his imminent victory to assume the stature of a national consensus. In this way, every section of Nigeria shall have equal claim to the victory, while at the same time giving the President the comfort and latitude to consolidate and improve on his governance profile as well as the socio-economic development of Nigeria with minimum distraction between 2019 and 2023.”
It was this that led to the flurry of criticisms and attacks, not on the UPP itself, but on the person of Dr. Okorie. We acknowledge that those who are against the endorsement of Buhari by UPP are entitled to their opinions and have the rights to express such views. We also acknowledge that Okorie is entitled to what he does with his voter card.
However, let us consider the grievances of those who have taken an entirely different position and have resorted to casting aspersions and name callings in trying to pass across their views.
One of the glaring points from the discussions as gleaned from social media comments is that UPP is an Igbo party and therefore should have picked an Igbo candidate for the election. Agreed that UPP by its ideology and leaning, has a soft spot for Ndigbo, it would be misappropriate to term it as an Igbo party and therefore should present an Igbo presidential candidate. One of the conditions given by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the registration of political parties is that such intending parties must have a national spread. This I believe that UPP fulfilled before it was duly registered. Again, it would be difficult in Nigeria, given our political and cultural diversities for a party to claim it is representing only a section of the country and expect that it would be accepted across the 36 states of the country.
For any party to make any headway in 2019 and beyond, it must engage in positive and result-yielding alignments and realignments. This is what I think the UPP is currently doing and is therefore justified in this regard.
One other point is that the support of UPP for Buhari is based on pecuniary benefits. I say, do these arm-chair critics understand what politics, particularly electioneering entails? Why not making excuses for Chekwas over this allegation, do these persons understand that to present a presidential candidate in an election in a country such as Nigeria involves billions of naira? What does a party that does not have the financial wherewithal and muscle to present a presidential candidate and engage in campaigns in 774 local government councils in Nigeria do? The best option is to endorse a candidate of another party and hoping to form unity government? I ask again: where were these people when Atiku and the rest of the new PDP broke away and joined APC to support Buhari in 2015?
If they say Okorie collected money from Buhari to campaign for him, what do they say to Governor Willie Obiano who endorsed President Buhari recently during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s book lunch “My Transition Hours” in Abuja, even when his party, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has Gen. John Gbor rtd. as its presidential candidate for 2019 poll?
Okorie sought to diffuse this allegation: “So many years ago, I was offered unimaginable amount of money not to allow Ikemba Ojukwu become the presidential candidate of APGA but I turned it down. I was still a young man then and the founder and national chairman of APGA and despite all the odds, I made sure Ikemba emerged the presidential candidate of the party. Let it be known that after Ikemba, no Igbo man has picked APGA ticket to run for presidency ever again. I founded the UPP and I zoned the presidency to the South East with my colleague and no Igbo man came up until I emerged.” My conclusion on this is that the allegation of Okorie being bought over is fallacious and does not hold water.
Of all the allegations against Okorie and UPP on the endorsement of Buhari is the APC presidential candidate is anti-Igbo. Again, they are entitled to their opinions. But given his choice of candidates in his previous attempts at the Presidency, it would not only be disingenuous, but mendacious to agree to such a view point.
Examples would suffice. In his two previous attempts, Buhari chose two of the best brains Ndigbo could offer as his running mates: first, Edwin Umezoke and second, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo. Yet, Ndigbo rejected him in those two elections. The second Niger Bridge which Goodluck Jonathan could not do for Ndigbo is being done now by the supposed hater of Ndigbo. Whether we like Buhari or not, the fact remains that in the five south-eastern states of the federation, he would surely get some votes.
My worry is that much of the criticisms coming against Okorie and UPP are from Ndigbo themselves. I urge a restraint here. Have we forgotten the role that Okorie has played and is still playing to project the Igbo course in Nigeria? Have we forgotten that he was the founder of APGA and offered Ndigbo the platform of having a formidable party with Igbo interest since after the Nigerian Peoples party (NPP) formed by late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe? Have we forgotten that those who kicked him out of APGA have today handed the same party to so called “foreigners’?
The truth is that when the history of the political development of Ndigbo would be written, Okorie would surely occupy a very enviable position for his contributions in seeing that Ndigbo are given a potent voice in the scheme of things in Nigeria.
Let us realise and agree that one of the central roles of citizens in democracies and other political systems is to make decisions about political matters. This involves decisions about which parties or candidates to support in an election.
Why should we kill a man for his own choice why we want our own choices to be sanctioned and applauded? It doesn’t make any sense. Agreed that Facebook is a leveler; a market place of ideas, yet it does not give anybody any latitude to degenerate to disparaging tantrums. Our criticisms should be marshaled out with respect for the other persons and their views.