Peter Obi: Conqueror Of The Godfathers
At the return of democracy in 1999, Anambra state was in the firm grips of the Godfathers. The Political Mafia literarily hijacked Anambra's democracy. They say the original name of the Mafia is "Costa Nostra" which literally means "Our Thing". So the collectives of Anambra became the personal estate of the Godfathers.
In the beginning, Chief Emeka Offor was the Godfather of the Godfathers, or what is known in Mafia Parlance as the Capo di tutti Capi (the Boss of all Bosses). He determines who gets what. Nobody can contest and win election without his approval. He bestrode the streets of Anambra like the mythical colossus.
Looking at all the people jostling to become governor in 1999, he elected to anoint Mr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju to be the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The PDP, following the massive rigging of that year's election, expectedly was declared victorious at the governorship election and Mbadinuju became the governor of Anambra state.
Mbadinuju's reign as governor was a total disaster for the People of Anambra state as the resources of the state was allegedly shared routinely by those who put the governor in power. There was a total infrastructural decay while public servants were perpetually on strike from year to year. Teachers became endangered species, while the government and its backers, the Godfathers raped the state to the extent that Anambra, one of the most endowed with both human capital and industries became a basket case. Besides looting the state's treasury, there were palpable sense of insecurity as extra-judicial killings was rampant. It was under this climate of fear and discretion of democracy by the Godfathers that the 2003 election was conducted. By that time ,even the ruling PDP was fed up with Mbadinuju and he was sacrificed for all that was wrong with Anambra. He was not given a return ticket.Capitalizing on a rift between Offor and his Godson Mbadinuju, the condition was ripe for a new Godfather.
A new PDP governorship candidate was to emerge and heralding this new man was the Godfather who had by then eclipsed Chief Emeka Offor and thus became the new Capo di tutti Capi. Enter Chris Uba. His elder brother's position as the closest aide of President Olusegun Obasanjo put him in a very influential position and he seized the opportunity to maximize his grip on Anambra .
Chris Uba anointed Dr. Chris Ngige to be the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP. At the election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared victory for PDP, but everyone knew that the election was massively rigged. There was no justification for PDP to win that election, unless if elections are won for lack of electricity, pipe-borne water, education among other services that the people of Anambra was denied throughout the four years PDP was in power. The election was clearly won by the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA),Mr.Peter Obi. APGA was the most popular party in the South-East and the people of the zone viewed the party as their own, while PDP was the distant party in Abuja, whose national and local leaders were part of the conspiracy to trample on their right as Igbos. To them their interest are better protected by APGA; more so as the PDP for four years had shown that it was bereft of ideas on how to run the state.As far as they are concerned, the PDP leaders are no better than thieves and armed robbers.
The PDP robbery of Anambra soon showed when the Godfather intoxicated by the powers he believed that he had from Abuja locked up a sitting governor and forced him to resign. What was the governor's crime? Dr. Chris Ngige had reneged on alleged agreement to hand over the keys to the treasury of Anambra state to Chris Uba. Uba was livid that a 'common governor' could stand in his way to the treasury of Anambra. All hell broke loose and the country was thoroughly embarrassed. Even Obasanjo, who himself was no different from the PDP leaders in Anambra remarked that "even among thieves there is honour". While the PDP Godfathers were busy looting the state's treasury, the APGA candidate at the 2003 election had been diligently pursing his mandate in the courts outside the glare of the public.
After nearly three years of litigation, the PDP's victory at the 2003 gubernatorial election was overturned by the court of Appeal on 15 March, 2006. Mr. Peter Obi took office as governor on 17 March, 2006. Less than a year after he became the governor, the anti-democratic forces in Anambra state PDP instigated successful impeachment of Governor Obi by the state house of assembly and was replaced the next day by Dame Virginia Etiaba, his Deputy. Obi successfully challenged his impeachment and was reinstated as the governor on 9 February 2007 by the court of Appeal sitting in Enugu.
Mr. Obi was again forced to leave office on 29 May, 2007 following the general elections, in which Dr. Andy Uba was declared the winner of the gubernatorial election. He returned to the courts once more, this time contending that the four year tenure he had won in the 2003 elections only started to run when he took office in March 2006. On 14 June 2007 the Supreme Court upheld Obi's contentions and returned him to office. This brought to an abrupt end the tenure of Obi's successor, Andy Uba whose April 14, 2007 election the Supreme Court nullified on the grounds that Obi's four-year tenure should have remained undisturbed till March, 2010.
And on Sunday, February 7, 2010, INEC declared incumbent Governor Peter Obi, the winner of the Saturday, February 6, 2010 gubernatorial elections. This victory gave Governor Obi an additional four years as the governor of Anambra state.
Governor Peter Obi, has used his position which was one of the most hard fought in the country, to reposition Anambra state. With no Godfather and allegiance only to the people of the state, he has made Anambra to witness unparalleled development in all the sectors and at the same time.
This trailblazer, who was the first man to unseat a serving governor; the first man to overturn an impeachment; the man whose legal victory set a precedence that made it possible for cheated governors to serve out their full tenures after reclaiming their stolen mandates; the man who introduced staggered elections in the country and the first governor in Anambra state to serve a second tenure, is without debate, a hero of democracy. The man that conquered looting Godfathers of Anambra state and in the process helped in deepening democracy in the South-East state and Nigeria, deserve all the accolades he receives all over the country and beyond.
In the beginning, Chief Emeka Offor was the Godfather of the Godfathers, or what is known in Mafia Parlance as the Capo di tutti Capi (the Boss of all Bosses). He determines who gets what. Nobody can contest and win election without his approval. He bestrode the streets of Anambra like the mythical colossus.
Looking at all the people jostling to become governor in 1999, he elected to anoint Mr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju to be the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The PDP, following the massive rigging of that year's election, expectedly was declared victorious at the governorship election and Mbadinuju became the governor of Anambra state.
Mbadinuju's reign as governor was a total disaster for the People of Anambra state as the resources of the state was allegedly shared routinely by those who put the governor in power. There was a total infrastructural decay while public servants were perpetually on strike from year to year. Teachers became endangered species, while the government and its backers, the Godfathers raped the state to the extent that Anambra, one of the most endowed with both human capital and industries became a basket case. Besides looting the state's treasury, there were palpable sense of insecurity as extra-judicial killings was rampant. It was under this climate of fear and discretion of democracy by the Godfathers that the 2003 election was conducted. By that time ,even the ruling PDP was fed up with Mbadinuju and he was sacrificed for all that was wrong with Anambra. He was not given a return ticket.Capitalizing on a rift between Offor and his Godson Mbadinuju, the condition was ripe for a new Godfather.
A new PDP governorship candidate was to emerge and heralding this new man was the Godfather who had by then eclipsed Chief Emeka Offor and thus became the new Capo di tutti Capi. Enter Chris Uba. His elder brother's position as the closest aide of President Olusegun Obasanjo put him in a very influential position and he seized the opportunity to maximize his grip on Anambra .
Chris Uba anointed Dr. Chris Ngige to be the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP. At the election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared victory for PDP, but everyone knew that the election was massively rigged. There was no justification for PDP to win that election, unless if elections are won for lack of electricity, pipe-borne water, education among other services that the people of Anambra was denied throughout the four years PDP was in power. The election was clearly won by the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA),Mr.Peter Obi. APGA was the most popular party in the South-East and the people of the zone viewed the party as their own, while PDP was the distant party in Abuja, whose national and local leaders were part of the conspiracy to trample on their right as Igbos. To them their interest are better protected by APGA; more so as the PDP for four years had shown that it was bereft of ideas on how to run the state.As far as they are concerned, the PDP leaders are no better than thieves and armed robbers.
The PDP robbery of Anambra soon showed when the Godfather intoxicated by the powers he believed that he had from Abuja locked up a sitting governor and forced him to resign. What was the governor's crime? Dr. Chris Ngige had reneged on alleged agreement to hand over the keys to the treasury of Anambra state to Chris Uba. Uba was livid that a 'common governor' could stand in his way to the treasury of Anambra. All hell broke loose and the country was thoroughly embarrassed. Even Obasanjo, who himself was no different from the PDP leaders in Anambra remarked that "even among thieves there is honour". While the PDP Godfathers were busy looting the state's treasury, the APGA candidate at the 2003 election had been diligently pursing his mandate in the courts outside the glare of the public.
After nearly three years of litigation, the PDP's victory at the 2003 gubernatorial election was overturned by the court of Appeal on 15 March, 2006. Mr. Peter Obi took office as governor on 17 March, 2006. Less than a year after he became the governor, the anti-democratic forces in Anambra state PDP instigated successful impeachment of Governor Obi by the state house of assembly and was replaced the next day by Dame Virginia Etiaba, his Deputy. Obi successfully challenged his impeachment and was reinstated as the governor on 9 February 2007 by the court of Appeal sitting in Enugu.
Mr. Obi was again forced to leave office on 29 May, 2007 following the general elections, in which Dr. Andy Uba was declared the winner of the gubernatorial election. He returned to the courts once more, this time contending that the four year tenure he had won in the 2003 elections only started to run when he took office in March 2006. On 14 June 2007 the Supreme Court upheld Obi's contentions and returned him to office. This brought to an abrupt end the tenure of Obi's successor, Andy Uba whose April 14, 2007 election the Supreme Court nullified on the grounds that Obi's four-year tenure should have remained undisturbed till March, 2010.
And on Sunday, February 7, 2010, INEC declared incumbent Governor Peter Obi, the winner of the Saturday, February 6, 2010 gubernatorial elections. This victory gave Governor Obi an additional four years as the governor of Anambra state.
Governor Peter Obi, has used his position which was one of the most hard fought in the country, to reposition Anambra state. With no Godfather and allegiance only to the people of the state, he has made Anambra to witness unparalleled development in all the sectors and at the same time.
This trailblazer, who was the first man to unseat a serving governor; the first man to overturn an impeachment; the man whose legal victory set a precedence that made it possible for cheated governors to serve out their full tenures after reclaiming their stolen mandates; the man who introduced staggered elections in the country and the first governor in Anambra state to serve a second tenure, is without debate, a hero of democracy. The man that conquered looting Godfathers of Anambra state and in the process helped in deepening democracy in the South-East state and Nigeria, deserve all the accolades he receives all over the country and beyond.
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