October 31, (THEWILL) – Most governorship election circles in Anambra State come with an attention-grabbing crisis nationwide, which seems to suggest that the gateway state to the heartland of the South-East is jinxed politically.
It was in this state in 2003 that a governor of the state, Chris Ngige, (now Minister of Labour and Employment) was abducted by a host of government forces led by Assistant Inspector-General Ralph Ige and power-brokers in the state. His successor, Dr Peter Obi, in 2007 was impeached for his refusal to defect to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and then prevented from running for a second term until he won back his mandate through an appeal upheld by the Supreme Court. Now, in 2021, the irreverent secessionist group, the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, has joined the fray, holding stakeholder’s attention with its directive to the people to sit out the election.
Six days to the governorship poll, which is scheduled for November 6, the pre-eminent state in the South-East is so thick with tension you could see it like a wall. The people, who had always obeyed the sit-at home directive of IPOB on Mondays in all the five South-East states to protest the detention of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, look forward with trepidation to a similar, but a one- week order from November 5 through November 11, meant to scuttle voting by the electorate.
As Election Day approaches, soldiers mounting sandbags at check points are visible in most parts of the state, notably Awka, the state capital; Nnewi and Onitsha, the auto and business hubs, and the various headquarters of the 21 local government areas of the state. Last Tuesday, the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba Alkali, deployed 100 senior police officers comprising DIGs, AIGs and CPs to coordinate and direct security activities before the polls. In addition, the police authorities have deployed 34, 587 personnel and three helicopters.
“In terms of a peaceful election, if you take past elections conducted in the state and the build up to it, violence becomes an anti-climax,” the Managing Director of B3 Communications, a public relations firm and member of the Soludo for Governor Campaign Organisation, Joe Anatune, told THEWILL in a brief interview.
“When we have an off- season election, you find that everybody is focused on that election. Anambra is where you have extremely educated and wealthy people and everybody wants to be on top of the game. It is in the interest of everybody that the election holds. I feel very strongly that all stakeholders, including IPOB, who I believe are reasonable people, are in the same boat. At the end of the day, we all want a better life for everybody,” he said.
Barrister Ohaeto Uwaze, a member of IPOB’s legal team, thinks otherwise. He told this newspaper that elections held in the region have brought no tangible result to the people, adding that only Kanu can revoke the November 5 to 11 sit-at-home order of the proscribed group.
“What has elections brought to Igboland? There is no difference between Igbo leaders and Al-Queda. How many of them are in positions in the commanding heights of the country? And they continue to keep quiet. Every time we hear come and vote, come and vote. What is my benefit in voting all these years? We have passed that stage. We cannot challenge what Kanu has directed. He cannot be under incarceration and at the same time election is being held in Igboland. We would be seen as unserious people if we disobey,” Uwaze said.
When reminded of the unnecessary killings going in the South-East because of the hardline position of their proscribed organisation and its refusal to listen to the call for dialogue and strategic engagement by elders and statement in Igboland, he raised his voice angrily.
“We have been shouting, but the country’s leadership has refused to hear us. We want the world to hear us. The world has a way of looking at the issues differently from Nigeria.”
For Mr Victor Ogene, former Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Public Affairs Committee, the general voter fear and apathy is prevalent in the cities and stakeholders have continued to appeal to IPOB.
Ogene, who is currently Director of Media and Publicity of the Andy Uba Campaign Organisation, said, “We appeal to our brothers in IPOB, that no elective office, as former President Jonathan said, is worth the shedding of blood of anybody. That was why Andy Uba suspended his campaign when Dr Akinyuli was killed.”
Then he added, rather, sarcastically; “When the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami mentioned the possibility of declaring a state of emergency in the state, peace returned to the state. There may be voter apathy but there will be localized elections within the communities except in the cities where people will be afraid. We have appealed to them not to.”
Attempts to reach former Governor Chukwuemeka Ezeife for comments proved abortive. The ex-governor who was stopped alongside a traditional ruler by security agents when they tried to gain entrance into the court during Kanu’s appearance on Wednesday, October 16, is said to be working round the clock to get IPOB leaders to calm down and allow the election to be held unhindered.
However, the umbrella socio-cultural organization for the Igbo, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has appealed to IPOB to lay down their arms. In a statement titled, ‘Ohanaeze pleads with IPOB for Anambra election’ and issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Alex Ogbonnia, pleaded with IPOB to reconsider the seven days seat at home order in the South-East so as not to cripple the region economically through the prevention of the November polls in Anambra State, the economic base of the region.
Ogbonnia said in the statement, “Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide pleads with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to reconsider the 7 days’ sit- at -home order in the South-East of Nigeria from November 5 to November 11. This is to enable the Anambra governorship election scheduled for November 6 to be held.
“It is important to note that Anambra State is the economic live-wire of the South-East with an impressive steady growth trajectory. For instance, the state showcases the best rural road network and rural community development in the South-East, if not in the entire country.”
“It is important to point out that one of the causes of the crisis of confidence in the South-East is the yawning gap between the youths and indeed, the masses on one side, and the political leaders on the other. Therefore, the leadership of the various youth groups should not be excluded in any meeting aimed at resolving the current crisis in Igboland.
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo reiterates its solidarity with any group that protests Igbo alienation in Project Nigeria, with a caution for restraint, maturity and wisdom. It is based on the foregoing that Ohanaeze adopts the philosophy of dialogue and negotiations in coalition with other concerned groups that comprise the Southern and Middle Belt Leadership Forum led by Chief Edwin Clark.
“It is also lamentable that the burial ceremony for the Afara Ukwu- born Mrs Victoria Aguiyi-Ironsi, slated for November 5 in Umuahia, Abia State, may be affected by the prevailing Igbo social climate. General Aguiyi-Ironsi represents so many things to the Igbo and we owe his soul a duty.
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo urges the Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willy Obiano, to convene a joint meeting of the Anambra State chapter of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, led by Chief Emeka Udodeme, and the Association of Town Unions, led by Titus Akpudo, with a view to activating meetings in all the 181 towns in the state. Traditional rulers, Archbishops, Bishops and the Clergy are also requested to brace themselves for their roles as the cultural and spiritual leaders of society.”
Ohanaeze warned that the disruption of the Anambra governorship election and the adverse consequences will be “a major setback to the Igbo civilisation.”
A Replay Of The Past?
The antics of the key players look like a repetition of Anambra State’s political past, as earlier mentioned. Starting on Thursday, July 10, 2003, when the then Governor Chris Ngige, (now Minister of Labour and Employment) was abducted by a host of federal forces led by Police AIG Ralph Ige and the Uba brothers.
According to reports, Ngige resigned his office at gunpoint in a nondescript toilet and had sworn an oath of loyalty to the Uba brothers at the dreaded Okija shrine.
Ngige denied he ever resigned and claimed he played along by going to the shrine with his Bible.
Two Justices, Egbo-Egbo of the Federal High Court, Abuja and Stanley Nnaji of Enugu High Court gave different but supporting rulings; that Ngige actually resigned and so he should quit office. The crisis dragged on and on the wee hours of November 10, 2004, some hoodlums brought into the state in 40-odd buses burnt every building of government business and the broadcasting houses.
Fearing the possible security implications for the country, the PDP National Chairman at the time, Audu Ogbeh, wrote a public letter to former President Olusegun Obasanjo that it was only incumbent on him to stop the Anambra mayhem.
Matters reached a head until the election tribunal removed Ngige, thus paving the way for the coming of Dr Peter Obi. Obi refused to defect to the ruling PDP and was soon made to taste the bitter pills of power. He was impeached in an unholy hour by a handful of legislators holed up in the hotel room of a neighbouring state, Dame Virgy Etiaba, Obi’s deputy, was sworn in as governor.
By another twist of fate orchestrated by the powers that be, Peter Obi got his mandate back through the court, but in the 2007 governorship election in Anambra, Obi and Ngige were excluded from the ballot by INEC on “orders from above”, thus paving the way for Andy Uba to be declared the winner of the election.
Once again, Obi went back to the Supreme Court, asking for the determination of his actual tenure. The apex court gave him a favourable judgment and Uba was sent packing after having served only 16 days as governor.
Governor Willie Obiano’s aide, who prefers anonymity, disagrees that the current situation bears any resemblance to the past. For him, what is at play is the display of ‘raw power’.
As he explained to THEWILL, the success of the sit-at-home order in the South-East has given the IPOB leadership a new found strength. Monday’s sit-at home orders, he noted, have largely been obeyed by the people, who are scared for their lives.
He said, “The arrest and detention of Nnamdi Kanu has made a myth out of him. Anything he says now becomes law in Igboland. Reveling in their new found power, the IPOB leaders feel they can extend it anywhere. Governors are no longer in control of the people. Do not let anyone deceive you. They have come into a newfound power. They feel the best way to get back at the politicians is to scuttle the polls”
Why Anambra? The aide explained the political connection.
“Anambra takes front row in having heavy weights in politics, public affairs and statecraft in the region since the days of the great Zik of Africa, the late Okigbo brothers, Chinua Achebe, a revered royal institution, the Obi of Onitsha and former President of the Senate, Chuba Okadigbo, Dr Peter Obi and so on. That is why stakes are always high in elections here.
INEC Takes A Stand
INEC as part of its readiness to conduct a free and fair election that it had promised would be transmitted electronically, following the support of the Senate, has increased the polling units in Anambra from 4, 608 to 5, 720. This effort is intended to allow a situation where polling units will be accessible to the electorate.
Reinforcing this move, Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, last Wednesday declared the readiness of the commission to conduct a free and fair governorship election in the state and transmit the results electronically.
Speaking at a meeting with the Joint National Assembly Committee on INEC and Electoral Matters held to engage with the commission over the forthcoming election in Abuja, Prof Yakubu, said, “We have recovered from the series of attacks on our facilities and I am happy to say that we have deployed all the non-sensitive materials to all the local government areas.
“As far as INEC is concerned, we are good to go on November 6,” he added.
The Way Forward
The way forward, according to one of the major protagonists in the current situation in the state, IPOB, is a referendum.
Affirming this, Barrister Uwaze said, “The best way to resolve the crisis is to conduct a referendum on our demands. If the vote is against us, we will bow down. We have passed the stage of fighting, but calling for the adoption of international best practices on situations such as we find ourselves.”
When asked if he knows that preventing people from expressing themselves during elections was against international conventions and the best practices he had summoned in defense of his position, he said, magisterially, “We cannot be talking about Biafra and talking about election at the same time. The world or reasonable persons would not take us seriously. The other day I heard Ambassador Babagana Kingibe say the unity of Nigeria is negotiable. That is it. We are already down. He that is down needs fear no fall, as a writer puts it.”
The Chairman of the Senate Joint Committee, Kabiru Gaya, during the meeting between INEC and the Senate on Wednesday last week noted that “the situation in Anambra is quite unfortunate especially at a time when we are approaching the gubernatorial election in the state.
“Elections, as you are aware, is a recruitment process of leadership as well as the foundation that carries the builders of change and development.”
About the Author
Amos Esele is the Deputy Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.
