APGA’S heroes and villains

                     

While success remains princely, failure forever is an orphan. Both characters are however neither scripted nor played-out in the heavens. They dwell among men. Irrespective of their sworn contradictions, both forever conspire to tug whoever contemplates life as window for self expression, and who therefore thrives to earn at least a moment mention among the successful. While all of us seek success, few attain it at times at great cost to the disconcerted majority who occupy the outside flank of the comfort-penury concentric. This is consistent with the concepts of success and failure, the making of one’s composite psyche and the covert and overt response of all of us to these phenomena. Heroes as well as villains, in their rise and fall therefore, are products of their socio-political milieu.

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has made memorable imprints in the nation’s politics. Not wanting in generous contributions to the pulsating politics of the nation, APGA has maintained an exemplary profile of talking-it-over instead of drawing blood. These talks somehow however get too malicious and vicious that they appear uncannily packaged in hell and mischievously couriered through cantankerous and cruel agents who care less what becomes of the people, as long as their mischief is served. This mischief while hurtful to the target individuals, injures everyone else even more. At the least, it leaves the people stranded at crossroads not knowing what or who to believe. It furthers speculative conceits where even nonchalant spectators swear to be sole custodians of the truth. This sorry state of the All Progressives Grand Alliance contradicts the warmth and camaraderie that characterized its postulations at emergence in 2002.

Apart from the burning zeal of those who originally conceived, worked and nurtured APGA, the successes in the recruitment of its frontline flag-bearers have been phenomenal. What with the commanding presence of Dim Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu whose spirit, as a recourse factor, hovers still over the party. It is only Ikemba who has run through APGA and emerged unscathed at heaven’s gate. He has therefore assumed the status of a totem for the liberation of the people from the throes of abandonment.

Not as endowed with strong character, the first National Chairman of the party, Chief Chekwas Okorie, quickly fizzled into nothingness as his plot to ditch APGA’s noble mission for the benefit of the People’s Democratic Party’s fraudulent machinations was torpedoed by Ikemba-endorsed staunch resistance. Chief Okorie’s santics found him out early and felled him consequently. Okorie’s misadventure, like the original eating of the forbidden fruit, proffered a preamble to the multidimensional intrigues which were to trail the All Progressives Grand Alliance. We now have elders who disregard the privileges of their advisory role and adopt juvenile rascality in preaching discordant doctrines which spell anarchy. Chief Nwobu-Alor, a father figure to Mr. Peter Obi, has proved a very bad influence on the thoughts and political decisions of the governor. When the over 80-year old man led the pack that unleashed untold mayhem on traders in parks and markets, Mr. Obi though refusing to take responsibility for the ‘Ndi-mpiawa-azu’ madness failed to tame the excesses of the rancorous old man. This failure marked another milestone in the trials of the party. Obi’s choice to swim or sink with his uncle jeopardized his openness to sound reason as, any voice that resented Chief Nwobu-Alor’s appeal was marked an enemy’s and silenced.

Not one to shirk his responsibility to the party under his leadership Chief Victor Umeh, aware of the imminent persecution, spoke out in defense of sanity. The reaction from the governor and his cronies was ‘How dare you step where angels fear to tread?’, and Chief Umeh from thence became demonized and ceased to neither know nor do any good. Obi’s absolute access to state paraphernalia of power was deployed towards whittling down Umeh’s popularity and control of the party. The governor however failed to contend with the poverty of his human relations against the natural effervescence of Chief Umeh. Umeh has continued to increase while Obi has continued to diminish as the fury flows. But instead of retreating, Obi’s unguarded anger has continued to pull him down the dungeon; and he would not be counseled aright. Surprisingly, Dr. Tim Menakaya who ought to appreciate the sanctity of service has chosen to emasculate the dignity of the human species for the cheap reason of Obi’s adoption of son as commissioner. The price of loss of dignity is total and therefore ought not to be toyed with for the lures of transient pay-offs.

Nonetheless, the underhand acts of subterfuge against the All Progressives Grand Alliance designed by Mr. Peter Obi have undermined the vivacious character of the party and its appeal to the masses particularly among the southern nations in the country. The All Progressives Grand Alliance desires an awakening of the sort that Mahatma Gandhi exhorted the timid Indian populace, to take ownership of their affairs since their salvation can only be procured by courageous support for dynamic party structure. For none among the high and privileged would secure it for them’. People should realize that they are as good as dead when in the face of systemic turmoil, they either sit on the fence or trade off cherished convictions for a cosmetic flash of carrot.

The kangaroo convention at Awka the other day portrayed all the shameless faces in attendance as unthinking opportunists who would rather opt for the vestiges of wealth from a nearly gone administration. I however am of the belief that majority therein merely sought for part of their erstwhile personalized resources. Is it not common knowledge that Governor Peter Obi cannot be said to have any trace of selfless charity. Why will he release funds selectively only when the ground is eroding under his feet: suddenly trying to be a party man because Chief Umeh needed to be hanged, or sanctimoniously partnering with churches because he seeks obvious patronage from them? But the mechanical approach in all these gives him out as a pretender. Thank God though that the churches while receiving cheques and thanking him see beyond the façade.

Against all odds, the APGA crises have confirmed Chief Umeh as the underlying force behind the party’s many victories for which Obi took credit in the past. I am sure that if Obi had prefigured the present revelations he could have sacrificed anything to preserve the myth of his phantom heroism. Let the truth be told and the spirits of our forebears will cease to be restive.