Nobody needed to be a professor of political science to predict the outcome of the November 16, 2013 governorship election in Anambra state.The election came with no surprises at all. Even the parties and candidates that lost (or losing really) knew the fate that was going to befall them. Take the All Progressives Congress (APC) for example. I kept on asking what made Lai Mohammed, its garrulous national publicity secretary, believed that the party would win the governorship election in Anambra state. The APC is seen by the majority of Igbo, not just Anambra state, as a Yoruba party. To compound matters for it, it has a fellow like Muhammadu Buhari, believed by many Igbo as a Muslim fundamentalist, as one of its key leaders.
Call me a tribal irredentist or religions bigot, if you like but my view is that our politicians should begin to embrace the reality. For reasons that are quite obvious, the APC will not win election in any part of Igbo land. So, let this reality down on its proprietors, so as to enable them rethink their current perception of Nigeria, especially as regards the 2015 election let the leadership of the party begin to repudiate the fixation that Nigeria is already theirs for the asking. If they do that, it would surely change their current attitude of condemning every thing Nigeria. The impression the key leaders of the party, (particularly Bola Tinubu and Buhari) give is that Nigeria is already dead but waiting for them to perform the miracle of her resurrection after Buhari and Tinubu must have moved into the Aso Rock Presidential Villa as, respectively, president and vice president. Or after Aminu Tambuwal (that’s what the newspapers say) and Babatunde Fashola must have moved in as, respectively, president and vice president. In short, all sorts of scenario are being painted in that circle but one common denominator among its members is that they have written off Nigeria; but on the proviso that Nigerians are merely waiting for 2015 to hand her over to them.
That was the mind set with which thy approached the Anambra governorship election. The APC knew it would loose that election but it went about it with the same verbosity with which it has been interfacing with the rest of Nigeria. All its national officers, including another garrulous Nasir El-Rufai, descended on Anambra. Poor Chris Ngige, he had to contend with the type of people that populate the part, especially outside Igbo land. Anambra people love him but certainly not to the extent of voting APC into power in their state. His co-leaders in the party didn’t help matters with their conduct before the election.
I laughed at those who thought that the Lagos deportation saga would not count. Anybody who thought that the good people of Anambra state would gloss over that matter was leaving under a big delusion. Of course, Governor Fashola compounded the matter with his so-called apology which several Igbo, including this writer (I have discussed the apology in this column) see as even more insulting. Unfortunately, some of those concerned believe that it is perhaps only attention-seeking columnists (like us), or paid political agents that were crying wolf were there was none.
Exactly a week before the election (Saturday November 9, 2013), I was right inside Balogun market in Lagos to (what else do they do there?) pick up some clothing materials for my kids and not unexpectedly, the governorship election was the main issue of discussion among the young Igbo traders there. So many views were expressed but the refrain was that “Ngige entered the wrong party”. A particular argument which ensued between two of the chaps caught my attention.
One pointedly argued that Governor Fashola angered him with the language he employed in his so called apology. He said the Governor needn’t say that a people who produced Nnamdi Azikiwe, Michael Okpara, Akanu Ibiam etc should not have the destitute amongst them. I looked at the young man and he didn’t cut the image of a newspaper columnist or a post graduate student of political science.
It was an eye opener for me that the people, I mean the real people, are quite mindful of the antics of the blundering elite. But unfortunately, the latter go on as if those who do not write articles in the newspapers, or have their faces shown on television or their voices heard on radio, do not know what is happening in the country.
Back to the Anambra election, however, my attitude is to look beyond both the current results and the one that will be ultimately announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). As I noted earlier, the outcome was quite predictable. My concern is that the election has shown a growing alienation between the politicians and the people. Surprisingly, commentators have been concerned mostly with the alleged irregularities but for me, more worrisome is the very poor voters turn out. Out of over 1.7 million registered voters, only 429,549 came out to vote. And this is in spite of the vigorous campaigns by all the parties concerned. I have not stopped laughing that young men would employ all their might and resources to campaign for an election only to have 94,986 votes (Tony Nwoye); 92,300 voters (Chris Ngige) and 37,444 (Ifeanyi Ubah) from a pool of 1,763,761 voters. Not even the winning Willie Obiano impresses me; with 174,710 votes after his party (APGA) has ruled the state for eight years and his outgoing predecessor believed to have done so well. The poor voter turn out should be of a concern to politicians all over the country. The way things are going, it may be become worse. I ask: do 174,710 votes from a 1,763,761 strong electorate actually constitute a mandate regardless of what the constitutions say?
