By Comr. Abonyi Emmanuel .O (PannyBoy)
It's now a prevailing news that the 2023 general Elections have wrought and provoked new political trends and dynamics, making it to stand out as one of the most politically tensed electioneering season in the history of Nigeria. This years' election can only be put to par with that of 2015 and the 1993 elections where that of 1993 became popular because of the post election violence caused by that infamous June-12 annulment. To that of the 2015 because then the country believed they had everything it takes for a country to progress and that the problem is the leadership, this saw the mass acceptance of an opposition party APC which was formed barely 2yrs to the polls. This opposition party waxed very strong on the grounds that they have an "integrity personified" candidate whom they told Nigerians that he's going to make the country better in a twinkle of an eye. (Deep sigh).
Now comes the election and the OBI scenario, just after the 2019 general Elections where Peter Gregory Obi deputized the current PDP presidential aspirant Atiku Abubakar the younger generation of Nigerians started making some positive comments about Peter Obi and his capabilities if giving the chance to handle the affairs of the nation, in fact as of 2021 some group of young Nigerians hinted that for OBI to be in the polls, that it's estimated to cost not less than #40billion and that they are ready to crowd-fund that only if he declares his readiness to be in the polls. From whence came a growing mass acceptance and the trends kept on increasing till the weeks PDP decided not to follow their own "zoning agreement" which led to OBI pulling out of the party and joining Labour party.
Now let's take a look at what's happening in my state Enugu and the various candidates contesting for some positions and what an unbiased person can make of it.
First we have some governorship candidates which because of dearth of time I would perhaps narrow it down to two contenders which one of them is Barr. Peter Mbah and the other is Chijioke Edeoga. For some that are not entirely on the know prior to the party primaries, The later who happens to be Chijioke Edeoga who hails from ISI-Uzo local govt in Enugu East senetorial district of the state was seen and believed to be the very person that has been annointed to fly the party flag in the primaries, this made the said Edeoga to be moving local governments to local governments with unnecessary entourage and the joy of government patronage drawn all over his face (You know someone that has been promised governor, the feelings, the arrogance and the pomposity).
I can recall vividly that the very day he visited Nsukka local government's Party stakeholders, I for sure was gobsmacked on his inability to talk to the people about what he intend to do if elected, rather he wrought out a list containing the names of the people in his entourage and all what not. He just calls name and say we should clap for the person and to shock you more, this are not technocrats per se but poorly bred cyber-stooges and wing-nuts that their only job is to attack people that disagrees with them with all manner of invectives and pejorative words.
At the other hand, The Nkanu stakeholders were having a series of meetings hammering on rotation formula as has been the case in Enugu state. As the Nkanu "in & out" are doing this, an MBAH who happens to come from that angle went underground making consultations and equally consolidating on them and fortunate enough he clinged on that ticket. Not only that he won the ticket through politicking, as the general Elections drew closer, we then saw the "Man in MBAH" and what he's made of, we now saw a man that plan to grow the GDP of the state from circa $4billion to a whopping $30billion perhaps by the second quarter of 2027. Let me not even delve into elucidating more on his manifesto now.
So the other bereaved faction then had to haggardly move to labour party where the integrity and the image of the party presidential aspirant is untainted to wail about their master being defeated.
Now let's narrow this down more to the state constituency level.
Here in Nsukka East, the same scenario played and still playing out where Hon. Barr. Christiana Ngozi Onah came out as of 2018 to contest for the house of Assembly in this very constituency but was defeated by the current occupant of the seat Hon. Edu Nwamba. In this scenario unlike most women that hardly stick to one conviction towards a project, this rare gem stood her ground from that moment till 2022 when the same politicking peaked again, and luckily to her this time, she emerged victorious in that primaries beating over 10 other candidates for the same post. But one thing played out before and during that primaries. One of the contestants then PDP now in Labour party vying for the same post went to the current local government chairman with a whopping sum of #30million to bribe the chairman so a woman doesn't emerge victorious in the primaries but as God may have it, he and his tempting amount of money got rejected forthwith. Should we talk about his utter propensity in indulging in anti-party activities even when he was in PDP where he also donated the same #30million to "Ikweremadu group" and later held their delegate election in another venue against the party guidelines?.
This is actually the sum total of the character some people claim they are saints. How saintly is someone who has enjoyed government patronage since whence he knew the meaning of the word politics be?.
The joke is on you if you believe that someone who has done all this sort of "political malapropism" is the better candidate than one that is competent and has unbridled integrity. I leave you to discern with your God-given mind.
For us as a people to have a better society, the onus is on us to maintain some high level of integrity because from a saying that posits that "people that doesn't keep to time hardly keep to agreement" we can equally suffice it to say that there's no better leadership without "integrity and competence".
Thank you ndi oma!
