ANAMBRA GOVERNORSHIP AND THE GODFATHER QUESTION

By Ifeanyi Afuba

In spite of his anger, real or feigned, my friend Mr Valentine Obienyem knows that he can neither privatise nor ban the history of Anambra State from public discourse. His rejoinder of Friday, September 8, 2017 [Daily Sun] to the essay ‘Anambra: Godfather’s futile dance’[Daily Sun, September 1, 2017] was an attempt at scaring people away from an objective discussion of the state’s recent experiences.

 The opinion in question was credited to Chinedu Nzeribe, a retired banker. But even with the verifiable details of bank identification, the writer’s status andaccompanying passport photograph, we are told by Obienyem’s oracle that this is a ‘non – existent name!’ If Obienyem could deny the iron – cast evidence before our very eyes, then he could also say that Willie Obiano is not the Governor of Anambra State.


In the circumstance, could he be trusted to be truthful on the issues raised? History is both the account of events and part of major actors in the various dispensations. It is in this light that the role of Mr Peter Obi in Anambra’s journey comes up for interrogation. Mr Peter Obi came into the public space in 2001 when he joined issues on the state’s condition with his poser: Is Anambra State cursed or are we the cause? Obi’s activism continued through the intervening years to his inauguration as Governor of Anambra State on March 17, 2006.

After eight years of governorship, Obi is still in the public space as a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party. These 16 years of active involvement in Anambra’s government and politics means that up to a point he is part of the contemporary issues. It is therefore not for lack of something to do that commentators dwell on the former governor’s activities.


It is not necessarily about liking or not liking his face. The truth of the matter is that any dispassionate reading of the state’s political history cannot omit the godfather syndrome. In a tribute to Mr Peter Obi on his 43rdbirthday anniversary published in Vanguard, July 19, 2004, I observed: ‘If there was one lesson to be learnt from the first four years of the fourth republic, it was that sooner or later, instability would rock a government installed by a political godfather. Ask Chimaroke Nnamani. Ask Chinwoke Mbadinuju. Ask Kwara’sMohammed Lawal.’ Mr Peter Obi’s struggle for restoration of his stolen mandate was a crusade against the godfather tendency, a patriotic pursuit for which many of us lined up behind him. The stability and multi sectoral achievements of the Willie Obiano administration partly results from the independence of the regime. The present Anambra State government was enthroned by the people of Anambra State and to whom it is accountable. It is an ego trip for anyone laying claim to the singular capacity of delivering the regime in 2013/2014. Admittedly, there were individuals such as Peter Obi and Victor Umeh who played crucial roles. It is also true that Mr Peter Obi’s preferred candidates for the APGA ticket in that election were OselokaObaze, Chike Obidigbo and Chinedu Idigo. Their candidatures were found unsuitable by the party largely represented by Victor Umeh. In the ensuing stalemate, Obiano easily emerged as the candidate acceptable to the varying interests in the party. And somewhat like David disregarded by his father as the young herd boy undeserving of consideration for the kingship but who rose to become the greatest ruler of ancient Israel, Obiano the unlikely candidate has proved to be the pace setter in Anambra’s development journey.