Ebele’s decision not to accompany her husband to the venue of the inauguration was a total breach of convention and protocol, and her arriving almost at the end of the ceremony evidences a pathological character defect.
By Tiko Okoye
A slapastrophic melodrama overshadowed the inauguration of former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and Professor of Economics, Chukwuma Charles Nwangbafor Soludo, as the fifth governor of Anambra State since the return to civil rule in 1999. In a show of shame that looked like a tragicomic scene in a soap opera, wife of outgoing Governor Willie Obiano, Ebele, and widow of the Head of State of the short-lived Republic of Biafra, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Bianca, grappled in a physical combat as the ceremony was coming to an end.
Obiano had arrived the inauguration venue without Ebele in tow. As a matter of fact, the deputy governor had already been sworn-in by the state Chief Judge, and Soludo was on the cusp of signing the register after having taken his oath of office, when Ebele sauntered like the lady of the castle without a care in the world into the arena. But lurking behind the placid mien, lurked a devious plan to spectacularly humiliate a perceived enemy on her sunset official appearance as outgoing first lady, as she immediately proceeded to catwalk, with arms flailing widely, to where Bianca sat.
Ebele was caught on tape demanding to know from Bianca – in a stentorian voice – why she was in attendance after previously vowing never to show up at any event staged by the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). She ended up calling Bianca a “bitch.” But Bianca is careful to note that it wasn’t the vile names Ebele called her that really got her hopping mad, but that she kept touching her shoulder in a very aggressive manner. According to Bianca, she was forced in the end to respond with a ‘dirty’ slap on the cheek of the bellicose Ebele in self-defence.
I’m tempted to give both ladies a red card for publicly disgracing themselves. Both of them ought to have known better; Ebele, as the outgoing first lady, and Bianca for displaying a character unbefitting of a one-time Nigerian ambassador to Spain and wife of the head of state of the short-lived Republic of Biafra and co-founder with Chekwas Okorie of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
Ebele’s decision not to accompany her husband to the venue of the inauguration was a total breach of convention and protocol, and her arriving almost at the end of the ceremony evidences a pathological character defect. Her conduct left nobody in any doubt whatsoever that her action was premeditated. Unfortunately, she ended up destroying herself like a hurricane of hatred that spun out of control.
“The dog,” averred Irish-born English playwright and poet Oliver Goldsmith, “to gain some private ends went mad and bit the man. The man recovered of the bite; the dog it was that died.” It should consequently come as no surprise that despite both women constituting themselves into public nuisance, Ebele has borne the brunt of ensuing criticisms. She acted like a cock that thought that the sun had risen to hear her crow. When Ebele conceived the thought of confronting Bianca, it seemed like a marvellous idea, but the resetting slapastrophe has obviously taught her and other wannabe copycats that not all thoughts should be acted upon!
READ ALSO: Why I slapped Obiano’s wife – Bianca Ojukwu
The nasty slugfest at the inauguration hugged the major headlines on what could easily pass for a red-letter day for Soludo, taking a considerable amount of shine off the day’s official event. In the end, however, Soludo still managed to wow Ndi-Anambra with a rousing inaugural address. The buzz in the air was palpable and tangible. Even before he embarked on his first assignment in office, a new phrase – SoludoSolution – has already entered into the lexicon of Anambra State!
In his inaugural address, Soludo pledged that “The Anambra State Government will (henceforth) only patronise ‘made in Anambra’ products and services unless such goods or services are not currently made in Anambra, then (it will be a case of) made in Nigeria, Africa, etc., in that sequence.” It’s indeed a very bold statement.
Ndi-Anambra were particularly enthused that Soludo walked his talk by arriving the inauguration venue in a G-Wagon built by the Nnewi-based Innoson Motors Manufacturing Company. He also wore a made-in-Akwete trouser-and-jumper combo, complemented with a pair of shoes made in Nkwelle-Ezunaka. The invited VIP guests were liberally treated to locally-procured excellent up-wine (‘iti’) and sweet raffia palm wine (‘ngwor’) rather than exotic and overly-expensive specially-branded spirits and champagne.
It’s true that it isn’t advisable to count one’s chicks before they hatch, and that the taste of the pudding is the eating, but there’s also a saying that a corn that would ultimately mature and ripen can be identified by looking at it when it first sprouts on the corn stalk. So, while many might deem it as too early in the day to start making conjectures, I perceive things from a different angle.
If indeed “The childhood shows the man, as the morning shows the day,” as English poet and novelist John Milton, averred, I can unequivocally assert that Soludo is clearly set to rise to the Presidency in 2027 or 2031, depending on two significant factors: the party that wins the 2023 presidential election and his performance. For those bracing to brew a political storm in a teacup using the foregoing conjecture as tea leaf, suffice to aver in the manner of English essayist and poet Samuel Johnson: “If I have found you an argument; I am not obliged to find you an understanding.”
Ebele was totally in the wrong when she brusquely demanded to know what Bianca was doing at an ‘APGA event.’ The truth is that despite being elected on an APGA ticket, Soludo was taking the oath of office as governor of the entire Ndi-Anambra, irrespective of party affiliation or sympathy. It is very disappointing that she couldn’t tell the difference.
Too many stories have been swirling in the political firmament with respect to how she controls her husband and has been known to overrule decisions already taken by the State Executive Council on numerous occasions. Her conduct on the inauguration day now lends full credence to such allegations. Many observers believe that Soludo’s decision to sack top management staff of the IGR-generating agencies in the state underscores the efficacy of allegations of Ebele going over the head of her husband and the state executive council to install stooges and relations to head key ministries, departments and agencies.
Obiano was reportedly arrested by agents of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) around 8 pm at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, shortly after handing over to Soludo, as he and his wife were about to relocate to Houston, Texas, USA. That social media platforms have been abuzz with news reports of the slapastrophe and have remained uncharacteristically nonchalant about the arrest of Obiano only goes to demonstrate how much harm Ebele’s ill-conceived action has started to cause her husband. The usual group of netizens didn’t hurl abuses and invectives at the Buhari administration for the “selective arrests of opposition party and Southern politicians”!
Be that as it may, If Obiano – in his capacity as a powerful state governor – could still be under Ebele’s thumb and spell here in Nigeria, as is being widely alleged, then Obiano must be protected from himself. It doesn’t require rocket science to know that relocating to America would set the seal on a worse fate for him. I, therefore, categorically state without fear or favour – even as controversial as it may initially seem – that the arrest of Obiano is a blessing in disguise, and that the longer he is detained by the EFCC, the more likely he would retain whatever is left of his integrity and manhood. The irony is what it is.
