Peter Gregory Onwubuasi Obi has justified his recent defection to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on grounds that the political party on whose wings it rode to power – the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) – has become too small to accommodate his futuristic plans for national relevance. It is his privilege – just like everyone else – to determine what course is right for him; and there are many who have arisen in defence of his decision.
What I disagree with, however, is his claim that his defection would henceforth herald a better and fairer deal for Ndigbo in the Nigerian project.
Two questions readily arise. Firstly, is Obi saying that for eight years he was in power as the governor of Anambra State, he knowingly and deliberately prevented Ndigbo from taking their rightful place in the Nigerian polity by selfishly choosing to remain a big fish in APGA’s small pond? Secondly, is he saying that all Igbo politicians in the PDP have failed to deliver the goods to their people and that he’s the messiah anointed to ultimately lead us to the Promised Land under the PDP banner?
I respect Obi immensely for his numerous achievements in office. My unflappable support for him while I was president-general of my town union cost me a lot because the entire local government area was majorly under a different political influence. But I must confess that I do not share his reasons for dumping APGA. In the first place, our elders say that the child that says his mother is ugly is simply calling his father a fool. Besides, is it right for a man to call a cow his brother simply because he wants to eat a piece of beef?
There’s no gainsaying the very obvious fact that to attain the kind of political relevance Obi desires, he must have a solid home base. But this will be difficult to achieve since he’s neither here nor there in both APGA and PDP. The leadership and membership of APGA are up in arms against him on account of what they perceive as his betrayal of the party’s philosophy and Ojukwu’s trust.
On the other hand, the ‘and they lived happily ever after’ expected outcome of his defection to the PDP would have to wait, as none of the notable men and women of timber and calibre in the state branch of the party graced the occasion! Truth’s that their no-show simply amounts to a technical declaration of war!
It stands to reason that Obi’s defection has considerably diminished his relevance in Jonathan’s re-election bid in Anambra State. It is not for nothing that our elders aver that when a rattlesnake loses its venom and can no longer sting it becomes an ordinary rope. Which explains why I’m very bothered by the fact that Obi seems only too willing to put all his eggs in the basket of just one man called Goodluck Jonathan. But then, it is a well-known fact that a man pressed to answer the call of nature doesn’t fear the danger of the evil forest.
Be that as it may, I’d be lying if I said that I was completely taken unawares by Obi’s defection to PDP. When I observed the emotional high Ojukwu’s burial ceremony had aroused in the South East in particular and the nation in general, I wrote a memorandum to Obi. In it I had noted that APGA had been handed a golden opportunity to re-position itself as a national party, by embarking on an elaborate membership registration drive in the wake of the funeral ceremonies. The glaring reluctance to seize both the moment and momentum convinced me beyond a shadow of doubt that Obi’s days as a member of APGA were numbered despite his strident denials.
Still, we mustn’t fail to acknowledge the fact that Obi left his defection till after he quit office. In a way, I believe he didn’t want to totally extirpate a child he was instrumental to giving birth to because the repercussions could have been worse if he had dumped APGA while he was still a serving governor. Still, Obi’s action put Chief Willy Obiano, his long-time associate and protege at Fidelity Bank and the man he largely installed as his successor, in a very tight spot. Didn’t our elders say that when your friend turns to a chameleon then you must recoil like a tortoise?
I still fail to understand what the PDP is trying to achieve with its public spectacle of Obi’s defection. To make a mockery of a supposed partner and demoralise and decimate its members? In fact, if not that the leadership of APGA has lost its mettle and sold its soul to the devil, it should have immediately severed its working accord and support for Jonathan for the act of bad faith!
Let me conclude by stating that Obi is a very high intelligent politician. Opponents who underrated him never knew what hit them on election day. So, while it seems like Obi would increasingly play an irrelevant role in the politics of Anambra State by reason of his defection to PDP, it would be foolish to prematurely count him out considering that. You can only count him out of the scheme of things at your own detriment, especially as politics is very fluid game.
• The first part of this article was published on October 26, 2014.
