Many years ago, before the advent of Paracetamol, APC was the medicine for headache, stomach-ache and indeed, all aches and pains.
Today Nigeria has a headache, a bellyache and all known and unknown aches and pains. The good news is that we know the cause of most of these aches. Diagnosis? Corruption and the poor leadership in the past 14 years democracy returned to Nigeria. But it looks like the good old tablet; APC is back in Nigeria; not in chemists and pharmacies, but as a political conglomeration that promises to heal Nigeria of many of her aches and pains.
In Imo State, the APC pill has been taken by Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha. Whatever political trauma or headache Owelle has, perharps he believes the APC will give him the relief he carves . For Okorocha and his political footsoldiers, the APC is the pill that will guarantee him political healing and survival. The APC is the platform that will actualize his two political options in 2015. One of the dream is to become Nigeria’s President or Vice. The second option is to run for a second term as governor of Imo State in the event the political battle for the presidency in 2015 becomes fiercer and goes beyond his reach.
Pundits therefore contend that the APC pill will cure Okorocha’s political headche and give him ‘political health’ that will energize him to confront enormous political forces to confront either of the two political options on his card.
Last week, Okorocha made a bold political move to drag his faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to the newly formed All Progressive Congress (APC). Aside the two political options on his card, I believe he ran to the mega party as a political survival move. His action has attracted knocks from his immedaite political family- APGA- mainly from the Anambra State chapter of the party propelled by his political foe,Governor Peter Obi and his followers who said that Okorocha acted alone.
Last week on this page, I wrote in a piece titled ‘Jonathan, Okorocha And Imo PDP:Matters Arising that Okorocha’s quest to retain the Imo governorship seat in 2105 is a serious doubt considering the avalanche of external forces orchestrated by the PDP that are bent on scuttling his return to office. I enumerated that the outcome of the parley between the presidency and Imo PDP stakeholders is a dangerous political signal that may impair his desire to hold forte as governor in 2015.
I also pointed out that it is dangerous signal for any incumbent governor if the presidency wines, dines, parley and flash smiles at each other with opposition forces in his State. I recalled in that piece that political danger looms in Owelle’s political calculations if he fails to understand that Imo State is filled with political landmines.
We saw how incumbent governors such as Achike Udenwa and Ikedi Ohakim took such political landmines for granted and bingo, it exploded their sucession plans. In Udenwa’s case, he had to alter his plans severally before he settled for Ikedi Ohakim as his successor. You will agree with me that Ohakim was never in Udenwa’s sucession plans. He was forced to adjust his political game plan when the forces against his sucession plans crumbled. The same fate befell Ohakim, who had to fail at the 2011 governorship election because of the combination of internal and external forces that exited him out of power despite the fact he had the political might to retain his seat!
If political lessons are important factors in shaping one’s political move, then it would have been political naivety on the part of Okorocha if he had confined himself within the APGA enclave if he was serious to realise the dream of running for the presidency or seek to be governor of Imo State again in 2015. Having understood this fact, the route of escape for the Imo governor out of the political quagmire he found himself (which he hurriedly followed) is to take the APC pill that will heal his political headche. The headache which arose from the political blows he has consistently exchanged with the Anambra chapter of APGA propelled by Governor Peter Obi.
He choose the latter which appears to be a platform that will not only give him a safe and secure political acomodation, but free him from the grips of APGA tingods in the State whose insatiable political lust almost made him a political hostage. For those conversant with the story of Okorocha’s emergence as Imo State governor, it will not be out of place if one says he had the herculean task the massage the ego, overbearing and dominerring influence of founders of APGA in the State
On the other hand, the implications of his move to APC has serious political underones for Imo State. It changes the political colouration of the State. Considering the fact he is a major actor in the State’s political theatre, his political leaning goes a long way to determine the political direction of the State in the next dispensation. Further, he has put the opposition in a state of frenzy and if the APC pill appears to be the cure to the headache of Nigerians from inept governance we have seen in the past 14 years, then Okorocha can be said to have moved one step ahead in overtaking his political opponents in the race for 2015.
However, he ought to convince Imolites and doubting Thomases that he is indeed for the merger of opposition parties. We have heard tales that he acted alone and never consulted anyone in the APGA fold. Some say he will dump the APC if he does not realise his presidential ambition This again puts a question mark on his political intergrity. Okorocha has to convince us that his decison to take the APC tablet is not for the sole purpose of healing his headche and forgo if after being cured. This suspicion is feuled by his political antecedents which shows that he has hobnobbed with three or four political parties before the advent of APC.
It is suprising that the Imo State chapter of APGA which he controls is yet to come out to back his decison and fire warning shots to those opposing his action. One hopes Imolites are not see a politcal u-turn in the days ahead.
Also, if he wants APC to heal the headache of Imolites, he ought to re examine his brand of politics which is averse to taking ‘political prisoners’ With a Winner Take All Mentality and inability to embrace opposition politicians, one wonders how Okorocha intends to work with his supposed political foes in the State such as former Governor Achike Udenwa, Senator Ifeanyi Araraume and Hon. Uche Onyeagocha whom by implication are now APC members. If politics is what we see make of it on the surface, then we can say that Okorocha and the trio do have political scores to settle. And if these leaders, Okorocha inclusive, fail to be on the same political page, then it means the gains inherent in the coming of APC in Imo State will be defeated. The consequnces of this action is better imagined than explained
At the same time, it is pertinent to say that our dear governor must inculacte or rather moderate his political temprament, adjust his style of politicking and develop a good working relationship with those whom by the present political development he now finds in the same political boat in the State. A situation where he is reported to have fallen out of political friendship with those who either vied against him at the 2011 governorship election, those who worked with him to secure victory at the polls and those who have opposed his style or brand of governance, is a minus for a political leader.
This is the time to move from rescue to mission. The ball is in his court. I humbly advise.
