Fwd: IN PRAISE OF IGBOS
ac...@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca
Category: Editorial
Date of Article: 02/28/99
Topic: In Praise of Igbos
Author: Afam Okechukwu
IT takes a great race to display sportsmanship. And Igbos have shown that
they are a great race.
Or how does one explain the overwhelming support of candidates of the
People's Democratic party (PDP) in the National Assembly elections in the
South-East. Following the loss of Dr. Alex Ekwueme in the presidential
primaries of the PDP, some uninformed persons gave visibility to the notion
of protest votes from South-East in the next elections.
Their expectations failed to materialise. But it will be unsurprising if
some self-styled critics explain the PDP's loss of the three senatorial
seats in Enugu to protest votes against Ekwueme's defeat. They have the
right to be delusional but the reality check is that what happened to PDP in
Enugu was a protest votes against the perennial interference of Dr.
Okwesileze Nwodo, PDP's national scribe, in the various primaries that have
been held in the South-East. Nwodo failed in his bid to impose Mr. Victor
Agu as the PDP gubernatorial candidate in Enugu, largely due to the
influence of Chief Jim Nwobodo.
Undaunted by that loss, he went for other states by imposing candidates that
failed to win primaries in Enugu, Delta and Abia states.
It is relevant to point out that all candidates imposed by Dr. Nwodo were
unsuccessful in the National Assembly polls. In Enugu West Senatorial
District, Collins Ndu lost to Hyde Onuaguluchi of the All Peoples Party
(APP), Ken Nnamani lost the Enugu East senatorial seat to Uche Nnaji of the
Alliance for Democracy (AD) and Fidelis Okoro of AD won the Enugu North
Senatorial seat against the PDP candidate imposed by Nwodo. In Abia central
Chief Chris Adighije of PDP, a candidate imposed by Nwodo, lost to Dr. Bob
John Nwannunu.
Since the primaries for the Federal Legislature were held, Delta North and
Central have been buffeted by crisis. Why? Because Dr. Nwodo has been trying
to impose his younger sister, Dr. Valerie Azinge, as the PDP senatorial
candidate for Delta North.
Where it not for Nwodo's imposition of candidates, PDP would have won about
14 senatorial seats in the South-East. Nonetheless, the party won 10 seats,
APP three and AD two.
To disabuse the minds of mischievous critics who would want to crow over
protest votes about Ekwueme's defeat in the PDP primaries, let us look at
the results of the senatorial election in Anambra State - Ekwueme's home
state. One cannot weep more than the bereaved. Not only did the three PDP
candidates win but the margin of their victories were astounding. Dr. Chuba
Okadigbo of PDP polled 234,186 votes to defeat APP's Areh who polled 83,566
votes for Anambra North senatorial seat, in Anambra Central, Chief Mike
Ajegbo of PDP polled 279,251 to defeat APP's B. Ofoma who had 22,591; and in
Anambra South, Dr. Eriobuna (PDP) had 264,834 votes to 44,764 votes secured
by APP's Okey Chiodule.
Inspite of the nation-wide low turn-out of voters that marked the National
Assembly polls, PDP secured 778,271 votes of the less than a million votes.
In fact, APP and AD had less than 17 per cent of the votes. The performance
of the AD/APP alliance in the senatorial polls was no better than their
performance in the gubernatorial election.
Of course, the Igbos know where their interests are best secured. It is not
in the AD/APP alliance. And they do not need the last-minute attention to
their cause by Chief Olu Falae, the presidential candidate of the AD/APP
alliance.
In a bid to win Igbo votes, Falae told his audience in Enugu that it was
cruel for the PDP to dump Dr. Ekwueme after he had delivered his state and
the South-East zone to the party.
When Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife was thrown up as the candidate of South-South in
the AD, did he deliver his state and ward to the AD? Or is Falae implicitly
telling Igbos that their son was dumped by the AD becuse he did not deliver
his state and zone to the AD?
When Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu won the presidential ticket of the APP, did he
deliver his State - Ebonyi - and the zone to the APP? Perhaps, Falae is
implicitly arguing that Onu was dumped because he did not deliver his state
and zone.
But what of Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, a presidential aspirant of the APP,
who had delivered his local government in all the elections held so far to
the APP? Was he not dumped by the APP after he had obtained the endorsement
of the screening committee of the APP because he refused to agree to step
down for Falae? Hear Dr. Josiah Odunna, the national secretary of the APP:
"In actual fact (sic) Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu was selected by the party's
screening committee, but the party's executive committee in its wisdom
approved Dr. Onu as possible candidate to honour the alliance agreement on
choice of a common candidate.
"If the choice was that of APP alone, Ogbonnaya Onu could not have been a
candidate; Chief Iwuanyanwu was decidedly the choice of the screening
committee set up by the party to produce a candidate for the party."
In other words, it is the AD/APP alliance that duped and dumped Igbos. Need
we say more.
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