The election Petition Tribunal cases in Abia State have come and gone including the one filed by Alex Otti, APGA Governorship Candidate in the 2019 Governorship Election challenging the election of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, the governor of Abia State which was unanimously dismissed today 20/9/2019 for lacking in merit.
What is very apt and important here are the obvious lessons one must learn from the entire election processes up to the post election judgment which Alex Otti lost, especially as it concerns APGA.
I have always maintained a strong position that politics is not sentiment and sentiment can never be politics. Again, in politics, you don’t choose your friends and discard your perceived enemies, even when you do not have any moral justification to label your so called ‘enemies’ enemies. Also in politics, especially for whosoever that is running for election, you don’t internalize bitterness and ranchor against those who suppose to be part of your team only because they look at your face and tell you the truth and fault you where you have gone wrong.
Politics of sycophancy and eye service can never enthrone a candidate into a political office. Again, politics of exclusion and disregard to party structure and leadership will always attract political doom and disgrace.
With reference to the above introduction, I therefore wish to do an in-depth analysis of why Alex Otti, APGA Governorship Candidate in the 2019 general elections lost the elections and to profer practical remedies to checkmate further failures in subsequent elections in Abia State.
Prior to the conduct of the 2019 elections, Alex Otti emerged as the APGA Governorship Candidate, though under some crises ridden situation.
One will expect that as soon as the party pronounced him her Governorship Candidate, he will exhibit and manifest the strong and positive leadership qualities in him which he claim he has by rallying round the party for a cohesive and united APGA where the Waring groups will sheath their swords and come together to prosecute the elections.
The opposite was the case here where Alex Otti rather than being meek in spirit decided to swim in the ocean of pride by pursuing personal vendetta against his perceived enemies in APGA, because of the sole reason that these perceived enemies of his do not see him as the god of APGA in Abia State and do not worship him as such.
When a man thinks that he knows all things, what he is telling God is that he don’t need Him and His directions in life.
No wonder the saying that “pride is a personal commitment . It is an attitude which separates excellence from mediocrity.”
Some of the reasons why Alex Otti was disgraced in the 2019 elections are as follows:
Pride which held him captive to assume the position of God and same led to his disgrace. You may ask how? Yes, it is pride and bitterness that blindfolded him into accepting the obvious falsehood that he will win election in Abia State without unity of purpose in APGA. It is the same pride that deceived him into believing that those party leaders he needed to mend fences with before the elections will come to him and beg him. It is the same pride that made him to jettison all good advise given to him concerning the prosecution of the elections. It is the same pride that deceived him into believing that he will win Election without running an aggressive campaign. It is the same pride that deceived him into abandoning his house of Assembly candidates in the general elections who of course are his foot soldiers and telling them that he will pass the elections while they will fail. The same pride also made him to pursue personal vendetta against some house of Assembly candidates for the 2019 elections because he does not like thier faces or because they are not rubber stamps or stooges who are ready to worship him as a god. This made him to secretly sponsor pre election cases against such candidates and in support his preferred candidates. All these were weighty factors that led to the abysmal performance of APGA in the last elections.
In the words of Soren Kierkegaard “The proud person always want to do the right thing, the great thing. But because he wants to do it in his own strength, he is fighting not with man, but with God.”
This quotation is in all fores with the circumstances and factors that led to Alex Otti’s failure in APGA in the last eight years.
He was looking down on people and therefore, he could not see something that was above him as quoted by C.S Lewis who said “A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”
Another major factor that led to Alex Otti’s disgrace at the election was his intentional and deliberate disregard to the party structure and it’s leadership. Infact this is his greatest undoing that forced him to come third in the 2019 elections.
His deceitful preference to his toothless, myopic and political naive “Abia First” to a more organized, focused and result oriented party structure and leadership must have thought him a lesson of his life in terms of election strategies and practical politics. Let me reiterate the obvious fact that no election can be won without making use of a well galvanized party structure which is the microcosm of every political victory. This was seen in the 2015 general elections in Abia where the Party under the able leadership of Chief Uchenna Okogbuo, now the Deputy National Chairman of of great party fully utilized the party machinery and structure to give APGA victory by winning 11 seats in the House of Assembly and of course wining the Governorship Election with Alex Otti as it’s candidate, though he allowed same to slip off his hands because of Political naivity, ignorance, myopia and self agrandizement which made him to disregard all good advice and contributions from party faithfuls and leaders that would have gained him the Governorship of Abia in 2015.
Though, the so called ‘Abia First” made up of political neophytes and opportunists fought very hard with Alex Otti in support to take away the 2015 elections from the party under Chief Uchenna Okogbuo, who stood his ground knowing the efficacy of the party running an election of which the result was positively seen then, coupled with the support and understanding Engr Okogbuo had with Barr Ahamdi Nweke who was then the director general for campaign before another person took over from Barr Ahamdi as the director general.
Yet, instead of relying on sound and popular advice, Alex Otti preferred sycophantic and lip service advice from his myopic and political ignorant “Abia first” group whose only interest is to praise their political ignorant master, even in his worst mistakes in order to fill their bellies, but at the detriment of their political ignorant Master.
What of the most recent elections in ANAMBRA where the performing Governor, Obiano scored 21 over 21. Have you asked the magic? It was because the party leadership and structure were fully activated and was in charge of the election.
It is therefore obvious that there is the urgent need for the party to address these anomalies whereby elections which should be the prerogative of the party should be left for the candidates on the believe that it is the candidates that have the elections. I totally disagree because the party is the super structure and without the party, there won’t be a candidate for elections in Nigeria, at least by the extant laws.
It is therefore expedient that the party should do the needful by being guided so as not to allow any Governorship Candidate of the party to believe that he has bought the party, thereby doing anything he or she likes, even at the detriment of the party who should own the election.
Until our party grow to that level where non of it’s candidates will think and believe that he is going favour to the party, instead of seeing it that the party is doing favour to him or her. This is why the party leadership and structure have been disregarded and insulted by her Governorship candidate in Abia State for these 8 years with the consequent political doom.
Note that this senerio does not play out in PDP and APC where their candidates have full respect for party leadership and structure because they know that without according such respect and recognition to the party, they cannot succeed in their political voyage.
This is the time our party APGA must as a matter of political necessity adopt this strict approach for maximum success in all elections which the party must recognize as theirs and not that of the candidates. By so doing, the era of unleashing political insults on the party by it’s candidates will be over and the candidates will always see the party as ‘must be partner’ in winning elections.
Whether we like it or not or whether anybody will agree with me or not, the instrumentality of the party is the only veritable tool and platform for winning elections. Any body or candidate who thinks that he can neglect the party like Alex Otti will suffer the same defeat Alex Otti suffered because of his political ignorance, myopia, vendetta and bitterness which beclouded his positive sense of judgment and reasoning.
APGA, Abia State will still raise that Joshua that will deliver the State and enthrone positive and practical dividends of democracy to our people.
Long live APGA Abia State! Long live APGA National, under the able leadership of Ozonkpu Victor Ike Oye.
BARR. CHUKWUEMEKA NWOKORO, State Legal Adviser, APGA, Abia State.
