The odds now tilt in favour of Senator Chris Nwabueze Ngige of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for to emerge as next governor of Anambra State in the November 16, 2013 election emerging for different and strategic reasons peculiar to Anambra politics.

In Anambra, politics has always been robust and dynamic for the fact that everyone is a stakeholder and like the much vaunted Igbo traditional values, the society is egalitarian, as every voter makes open his or her candid opinion without minding whose ox is gored. This is because A the people are self-reliant and pragmatic.

As a politician, Ngige has weathered the toughest terrain of the country’s politics and had his baptism of fire when he earned the unenviable record of being kidnapped as a governor. He is therefore the proverbial cat with nine lives, whose Chi or God is always dictating his steps. For Saturday’s election, he is the issue, and the most central in all discussions and permutations of who succeeds Governor Peter Obi.

Ngige practically took himself up the rungs of the ladder and emerged as governor, who won the hearts of his people and even beyond by declining to compromise with political godfathers, who like leeches have embedded themselves into the politics of the state. He turned the odds against them and emerged triumphant. His administration was transparent and accountable to the people.

Having incurred the wrath of the godfathers, it is believed that he was conspiratorially “booted out” by the court that installed Obi as governor. Obi is alleged to have no qualms with the cabal that threw away Ngige because he “settles.”

The masses that Ngige worked for since his 2006 exit have remained with him. He is said to have clearly won the 2010 election if not for the alleged rigging through the manipulation of voters’ registers. That faulty register has not improved much since then which is reason again the election is electrifying all stakeholders. Ngige later ditched the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, of which he was a founding member and joined then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to fight for the sake of masses whose entitlements are allegedly mortgaged. He again emerged by the popular will and trashed Obi’s APGA to win the Senatorial seat.

It is therefore discernable why he is indispensable in the fight to salvage the state. He is not being accused of having qualms with people, even with the aristocrats, except for the cabal that see him as a threat.

In about three live debates so far held, Ngige has clearly led with superior arguments and enlightenment on his proposed policy thrust. In all, what shone through was his brilliance, erudition, political experience and administrative competence, making his rivals to shy away from subsequent debates.

What is regarded as a question for the triumph of Ngige is his party, APC, which his opponents through sheer propaganda label a Yoruba party. But having recently won his senatorial seat with the ACN such falsehood is now dead. There is no doubt that the brand new APC now has wide national spread with the states in the north and even in South-East and South-South.

The argument is that Ngige is first, an Igbo man before his affiliation with any political party; that he will resist any outside interference and thereby use the state’s money for the people; that the funds will obviously not be taken to any godfather. The argument on his political party, APC, affiliation is said to be so naive that only those who are not well informed will succumb to such falsehood inherent in the propaganda.

Other factors going for Ngige are the recent tragedy at the ‘Uke Adoration Ground’, where no less than 28 worshippers died. Whereas, Obi accused Ngige of being responsible for the tragedy, the Catholic Church authorities exonerated him, saying he was neither at the venue nor sent any emissaries, unlike Obi who was there with his campaign team.

A clip of the video at the event indicates that Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Obinma who was ministering by power of the ‘Holy Spirit’ had predicted that a new leader would emerge by November 16, which everybody will be proud of. Without knowing it, the Man of God mentioned ‘Onwa gaeti ozo’!, which is Ngige’s title. These revelations happened before the APGA campaign team at the church.

On how he hopes to transform Anambra State, Ngige has articulated a 12-point agenda which is a continuation of his blueprints which he insists is only 30 %been implemented by Gov. Obi . There is no doubt that by voting Ngige, Anambra will realise its potentials and take its place as one of the leading states, indeed live up to its motto: ‘Light of the Nation’.

Tony Icheku wrote this piece from Enugu

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