APC/PDP: Winning Some, Losing Some!

By SOC Okenwa…

Penultimate weekend, prior to the Sallah muslim festivities, President Muhammadu Buhari returned to the country after spending almost two weeks in London on a working vacation. While there in the British capital city Buhari must have kept a medical date with his doctpors as the secrecy behind his health challenge perdured. He had played host to a host of politicians (including the decamped former Senate minority leader, Godswill Akpabio, a former Governor of Akwa Ibom state who recently left the PDP opposition party for the ruling APC).

Senator Akpabio had said irresponsibly recently that they (his ‘troops’ and himself) would “invade” Akwa Ibom state in next year’s guber polls as the late Hitler and his Nazi troops did in Poland in 1939 with the sole aim of removing the incumbent Governor Udom Emmanuel whom he had imposed as a godfather on Akwa Ibomites way back in 2015. Now, between the godfather and the godson things had fallen terribly apart. For the former (Akpabio) the latter (Udom) was a “mistake” that must be corrected come 2019. But for Gov. Udom Akpabio was playing god! He even invoked the “holy ghost fire” on his former boss before the people recently in Uyo while seeking for their votes for a second term.

Read Also: PDP,consensus candidate and its imminent failure

The political problem between Governor Udom and Senator Akpabio could be traced to the ego and hubris behind godfatherism in Nigerian politics. Examples abound and some would suffice here. These instances tend to impose certain reflections on us as regards our political indisipline, irresponsibility and impropriety.

The aging bleaching ex-Governor of old Anambra state, Jim Nwobodo, had brought former Enugu state Governor, Chimaroke Nnamani and made him the state chief executive some years ago but now two of them had acrimoniously parted ways. Ex-Governor Orji Uzor Kalu had done everything in his incumbency powers to make Senator Theodore Orji (then in prison) governor of Abia state. But today the godfather and godson are no longer speaking the same political language. Orji as Governor had tried hard to destroy Kalu politically rubbishing his legacy in the process.

In Benue state Governor Samuel Ortom was having problems with the former Governor George Akume who is said to be his godfather. Ortom had claimed, prior to his defection from the ruling party to the opposition that he was “red-carded” out of the political pitch by unnamed political forces beyond his control and therefore on the sideline pondering the next move. Spirited attempts to reconcile their differences failed woefully leading to the controversial defection.

 

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