RANDOM THOUGHTS ON ANAMBRA ELECTIONS: The Acid Test for IPOB

This was a post I wrote 24 hours to the Anambra 2018 elections that saw the re-election of the Governor Obiano administration. It make for a good read.

 

Coming back to Anambra after 4 years gives one the impression that the state has achieved some level of progress. Wading through the traffic and seeing the neon lights that straddle the bridges would make you believe everything is fine. Look beyond that and you would come to the realization that there is an underlying fear that Anambra is the ultimate test for the strength of the IPOB pronouncement.

Months ago the IPOB missing leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu proclaimed that all Anambra people should boycott the elections. He threatened that IPOB would be in the forefront to mar the elections. Today, the same Nnamdi Kanu is nowhere to be found. In response to IPOB threats the political elite have also concluded campaigns with much fanfare. It is also interesting to note that in defiance to the IPOB threat, the APC led by the President himself hosted a large turn-out of APC faithful in Anambra endorsing Nwoye as the successor to Governor Willie Obiano. In response, the PDP also carried its last campaign with former President Goodluck endorsing Obaze as the heir to the Anambra government house. Alex Ekueme’s daughter is running as a deputy governorship candidate to the PDP Obaze. APGA also suffered a major defeat as Ojukwu’s son defected to the APC. With Ngige’s popularity among the grassroots, this would make for an interesting elections among the titans.

In all of these, there is a deep rooted despair in the soul of the people about the sincerity of the current crop of leaders, this has been exacerbated by the economic hardships the people faced since 2015 recessions. This goes right into the heart of how well the political leadership has fared. With a miserly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of N1.2 billion monthly, one wonders what the Onitsha and Awka markets have been doing all this time. Also do not forget that Anambra hosts INNOSON, the only Nigerian automobile manufacturing firm and HERO Lager beer-SABMiller brewery (the fastest selling beer in the south east and south south). What do these companies bring to the table of revenue for the state? Are the people willing to forget hunger and threats to come out and vote? Another would be what is the implication of the missing Kanu in the Anambra elections? Would IPOB members confront the police and the military to truncate the electoral process?

 These are some of the questions the voters should look at before committing another blunder that they would live with for the next four years.

We therefore await the outcome of the elections less than 24 hours from now.

Keep you posted.