Anambra: Coalition of Losers Offensive Against The Obianos

EJIMONU UDENKA

“The vulture is a patient bird. It does not kill its prey. It waits for another predator to kill and then swoops down on what is left of the carcass.” This excerpt from author, James Hardley Chase’s 1969 thriller highlights the virtues of patience of Max Kahlenberg, a crazy, reclusive and compulsive art thief with a distorted sense of humour. Whereas this may be true of Chase’s fictional character, patience is undoubtedly alien to the average Nigerian politician nay Anambra Coalition Losers who in the quest for power has elevated conspiracy and blackmail to an art form. 

Anambra Coalition of Losers is made up of largely Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) politicians and their acolytes who lost out in the Anambra power equation after many years of despoliation. They include renegades from other political associations desperate to uproot the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) government led by Governor Willie Obiano. They are not propelled by altruism or novel developmental initiatives that will better the years of stability and progress enjoyed by Anambrarians. They do not mean well. In case you are still wondering, their renewed onslaught and smear campaign against the person of Obiano and his wife is all about 2021 gubernatorial election in the state and jostle for a successor.

Unfortunately, the encircling vultures like losers they are, appear not to have learnt anything from recent history. Though like Kahlenberg they are devious and unforgiving, yet lacking in his most potent conquering virtue – patience.  With the string of devastating losses on the political scene from Obiano’s 21-over-21 sucker punch to their recent misadventure at the national level, the PDP even with a former governor, the only ‘Anambra Saint’ in their fold,  is back to old ways of ‘pull him down at all cost and occupy.’ Though they have been licking their wounds and encircling Anambra like vultures, it is disappointing that they still lack the patience to articulate a good strategy devoid of mudslinging and smear campaign.

The losers have commenced nocturnal gatherings from where they emerge, baying for blood in spite of the ‘bloody nose the party got in most recent elections. In fact, they are so desperate that they are ready to truncate the Anambra zoning arrangement. Already Obiano’s predecessor is recruiting willing clergymen to champion the next onslaught on Agu Awka by his protégé and the plan involves blackmail and instigation of crisis between Obiano and the church as well as the sponsorship of candidates to upset the current arrangement that has ensured stability and mutual respect among the zones.

Already, a perennial contestant, Obiora Okonkwo has been arranging meetings at the former governor’s instance, swearing that they are now ready to topple the cart in Anambra, whether the people care or not. They are recruiting and as part of their plan-B positioning, they want to use him as bet to attack the zoning arrangement

Perhaps the uninitiated may be deceived but the fact is that his predecessor is the man behind the curtain orchestrating the diatribe through his man Friday and recruiter-in-Chief, Val Obienyem. They have detailed hecklers led by one Chris Mchot at the head of social media urchins mandated to muddy the water to distract the man at the helm in Anambra.

As a keen observer and stakeholder, I make bold to state that in Anambra South we will not fold our hands and watch Obiano’s traducers truncate our turn after his tenure. My advice is that they should change strategy since their venomous criticism and vilification through recruited social media urchins cannot change the facts that Anambra under Governor Obiano has made remarkable progress.

Ejimonu writes from Orumba, Anambra State. (ejimonu247@gmail.com)