Finally, from a marketplace of candidates, the real contenders – 23 candidates – for Anambra State Governorship election billed for November 16 has been released by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Beginning from August 13, 2013, when INEC published the notice of election for politicking in the State, it was like a hitherto dormant volcano erupted. In that period, Anambra State politics fully lived up to its billing as a ‘theatre of the absurd’. It was a game of high stakes as intrigues, money, blackmail, intimidation and even forgeries of documents was employed in the game of wits to secure the respective party’s endorsement as its flagbearer.
Though INEC released a list featuring 23 candidates and their parties, observers are of the view, all things being equal, that the race is really a four-horse race among Senator Dr. Chris Ngige of the All Progressive Congress, APC; Chief Willie Obiano of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA; Mr Ifeanyi Ubah of the Labour Party, LP; and Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
A quick analysis of the political socio-economical development of Anambra State will show that what the State needs to take her to the next level is an experienced, politically-savvy and a technocrat to take the State to its full potential and beyond.
A glance at the four major contenders show that the APC candidate, Senator Ngige more other fits the bill of a leader who prepared for the great moment. He is experienced in every definition of the word, having served as a former governor of the State and currently serving as Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District.
He had a memorable time as governor of the State and even proved his mettle as a seasoned law maker when he not only held forte for the other senators from the state whose seats were vacant but also sponsored no fewer than 35 bills and 50 motions in the Senate within two years in the upper chamber.
Coming close in a distant second is Ukachukwu from Osunenyi in Anambra South senatorial district. But his experience is in a much-more limited dimension. Except his visibility as shrewd businessman, some of which border on seeming dishonesty and attendant intervention by the anti graft, EFCC, he has a proven career experience as a politician who had served as member, House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003.
The APGA candidate, Obiano has administrative experience having garnered from the banking halls and boardrooms. This is his first foray into politics at this level.
The LP candidate, Ubah is a known businessman, laden with excess cash but politically, he is a greenhorn in the race as this is his first time on the political turf.
Ordinarily, it would have been easy for an average Anambra voter to make a choice, but politics being the art of the possible, things are not what they appear to be, and nothing comes quite easy.
Pertinent questions would be voters would seek answers to from the candidates include their pedigree, personality character, leadership capacity and capability, vision and mission for the State.
Anambra State, like other South-East states had suffered under the yoke of mediocre leadership with the attendant retrogression in socio-economic facets of life.
Poor leadership has forced the State to retrogress rather than progress. If the administration of former governor, Dr Chimwoke Mbadinuju is compared to that of Governor Peter Obi, the latter would earn credit points. Under Mbadinuju, governance in the State virtually grounded to a halt as he was held hostage by a political cabal. While Obi who has been in office for seven and half years has returned considerable normalcy, those seeking to succeed him argue that he has nothing to show despite receiving over N2 trillion as statutory allocations from the Federation account.
The challenge for Anambra electorate is to evaluate the candidates by their pedigree, past record and vision, and to pick a winner who can fast-track its developmental challenges and position it as one of Nigeria’s fastest growing State outside the oil producing States.
To predict the future performance of any of the candidates, psychologists urge Anambra citizens to look back at the past record of the candidates. They argue that a person’s past deeds offer the most reliable way of predicting future deeds. Psychologists rarely anticipate radical changes in behaviour, no matter the behaviour modification: thus in political leadership, antecedents are rated highly.
The Candidates
In analysing the leadership qualities of the candidates, one borrowed from the book Leadership Transformed, by Peter Fuda, a global authority on leadership. In this book, Fuda employed metaphors to illustrate leadership qualities.
Using fire as metaphor, Fuda states that it connotes passion, anger, love, desire, and urgency. Fuda believes it’s more important to have a burning ambition than a burning platform, he says.
Ngige ranks high here, in his career path, he has displayed such traits like passion, desire, urgency and burning ambition captured in the fire metaphor.
For Ngige, this characteristics took him through a tortuous path to emerge governor from 2003 to 2006, and to lose it again in controversial circumstances, but he has kept faith by attempting severally to return to the Governorship seat, to accomplish another of his leadership characteristics – vision.
Ubah too exemplifies bits of the fire characteristics which has seen him soar to the top as a businessman, but recent controversies surrounding his business style and acumen which has seen his company, Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited going into receivership for two years has cast a big question mark on his credentials.
Obiano and Ukachukwu on the other hand would score average on this point as their rise to the top of their career could be likened to a slow, steady dedication. They were not fired by urgency or passion, else, Obiano would be a bank owner rather than a retired bank executive.
Ngige also topped in another of Fuda’s metaphor, the transformation from amateur cook to master chef. He states that this involves recipes, utensils, and cooking methods. From his progress as a party administrative personnel to Governorship, and then the Senate, Ngige seems to have imbibed and applied this trait.
Using the mask to illustrate another leadership characteristics, Fuda notes that in The Phantom of the Opera, the phantom wears a mask to conceal his personal imperfections, but even though everyone knows it’s not his real face, he prefers the façade. When leaders wear masks, it undermines trust, and to be successful they must take the covering off.
“When leaders demask and become more of their authentic self, warts and all, they become more effective,” he says.
On this point, Ngige emerges tops, having revealed his true personality in his face-off with his past political associates. The incident left him a repentant, people-focused leader whose three years in office made a folk hero.
Ngige
Ngige’s image as a candidate looms large. He is truly loved by the people and feared by his opponents. He has shown courage and competence, while he served as governor of the State
As senator he has equally impacted with bills such as Firearm Bill, National Ethic and Race Relations Bill and Farmers Registration Council Bill, and others still in the works.
Ngige, born in 1952 is a known crusader of social justice with doggedness for standing firm by his people even in periods of trials and tribulations, which came to the fore during his tenure as Governor of Anambra State.
He is a medical doctor, seasoned administrator and a great manager of men and materials, a skill he perfected during his 18 years in the Civil Service where he retired as a Deputy Director.
He was a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP where he also held several positions including: Protem Zonal Publicity Secretary, the Assistant National Secretary and Assistant National Zonal Secretary, South-East, Member of the National Executive Committee, NEC.
Obiano
The candidate of APGA Chief Willie Obiano, served the Banking industry for 24 years and for 9 years was Executive Director in Fidelity Bank Plc.
Obiano comes to the race with considerable weight as a technocrat from the private sector background, he has no public service or political experience.
Additionally, he is coming into a turbulent, complex world unlike the ordered and well-structured world on banking, and appears as an unknown quantity. He has also not aggressively articulated and publicised his vision to compel other stakeholders other than those within his party to buy in into it.
Ubah
Ubah, the Labour Party candidate, upbeat, youthful and ambitious business mogul entered the political scene with a bang. He passion and burning ambition to emerge governor shows young man with promise, but he lacks political and public service experience.
He was formerly, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Capital Oil & Gas Industries Limited which he built with the vision of becoming a dominant leader in the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. But it appears the company is slipping from his hands following its confiscation by Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) for huge debts.
Ubah had been removed as the Chairman/ Chief Executive of Capital Oil by AMCON, raising a serious moral question on his suitability as Governor. Indeed, he is regarded as the Ross Perot, the American businessman who used to dabble into the presidential race as an independent candidate, in this race
Ukachukwu
Ukachukwu, who upstaged both Senator Andy Uba and Tony Nwoye through court action, to emerge the flag bearer of the PDP), is a veteran of many gubernatorial and other elections.
Formerly House of Representatives member representing Abuja Municipal Area Council and Bwari, FCT, 1999 -2003, he is described as a dogged fighter and found a worthy opponent in any political combat.
Ukachukwu is the founder and CEO of SNECOU Group of companies. Very little is know of his political thoughts and philosophy.
Written By Tony Icheku
