By Sunday Ani

Director General of the Voice of Nigeria and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, said nobody should worry about godfatherism in the on-coming November 18, 2017 gubernatorial election in Anambra State.

In this interview, the political scientist spoke against growing insinuations that godfathers in the state influenced the governorship primaries of some political parties to ensure the emergence of their choice candidates in the election.

As a political scientist and one of the leading politicians in the South-east region, can you shed light on the role of godfatherism in politics with emphasis on the forthcoming November 18, 2017, gubernatorial election?

Thank you for finding me worthy to be in the pages of one of the leading newspapers in the country. If I remember vividly, we were taught in the Political Science class that anyone who aspires for an elective office must acquire or seek the support of those who can assist him or her with two or all the factors of political success or winning an election. They are almost the same as the factors of production which are taught in Economics class. The slight difference is their categorisation. In Economics, factors of production are capital, labour and entrepreneurship; in political electioneering the factors of success are capital, leg work and tacticians. They are almost the same; capital is the same, leg work is the same with labour and tactician is the same with entrepreneur.

So, how do these factors impact political electioneering?

The truism is that there is no political landscape, especially in liberal democracies worldwide, where capital is not a cardinal factor. The cost of political advertising in America, United Kingdom, Canada and other advanced countries is the same, if not higher, with the cost of voter inducement or outright vote buying in Nigeria. Capital is key to the formation of any organisation whether economic or social. Therefore, political engagement cannot be an exception.

There have been calls for the cancellation of the result of the Anambra gubernatorial primary election of your party over allegations of financial inducement and swapping of delegates. How would you react to that?

My submission is that the APC primary, and even that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), were free, fair and transparent. Anyone calling for the cancellation of the results is simply playing Governor Willie Obiano’s script. I shall come back to Obiano’s phobia to have Tony Nwoye of the APC or Osaeloka Obaze of the PDP as candidates.

It was Rt. Hon. Chuba Okadigbo, the Oyi of Oyi of blessed memory, who, when asked why Senator Igbeke, aka Ubanese, floored him in the first primary of the PDP for Anambra North Senatorial District in 1999, quipped, “the young man splashed money and when the primary was cancelled I quickly remembered the lesson the great Zik taught us.”

Related News

He narrated how Zik managed to beat other contestants to emerge as the premier of the defunct eastern region. He said that Zik’s lesson is that before you set forth to join politics, more so if you want to run for an office, try and have some money of your own; if not, look for a financier or financiers as the case maybe. In the case of Zik, his major financier or godfather was Sir Luis Odimegwu Ojukwu of blessed memory.

Those calling for the cancellation of the result say that Nwoye cannot win the election for the party, as he is allegedly being sponsored by a particular billionaire in the state. Aren’t you afraid the APC is losing the momentum it had generated in the state ahead of the primary election?

 Let me repeat; there is this insinuation that His Excellency, Willie Obiano, the incumbent Governor of the state, is the only one out of the three major candidates who is godfather-free and accordingly stands in a better stead to deliver democracy dividends unencumbered. The allegation goes thus – that APC’s candidate, Nwoye, is being back by a popular billionaire while that of the PDP, Obaze, is being backed by a billionaire former governor of the state.

So, what’s your take on that? Do you think the chances of your party are still secure?

Permit me to posit without being immodest that Governor Obiano’s propaganda is to count himself out from the pack of godfather-sponsored candidates, which makes his tale to be akin to the ancient blind man tale we were serially told in our villages during the moon shine.

You see, your generation is missing a lot. Today, Nollywood, other films and English league have taken over moonlight stories, which guarded our lives as we grew up to adults. In those days, our parents insisted that we listen to the moonlight tales before we go to bed. Back to our discussion, the tale of the blind man is about a blind man who was given an apple by a Good Samaritan and when the blind man was asked who gave him the apple, he retorted that he stumbled on it with his legs. When the answer of the blind man got to the hearing of the Good Samaritan, the Good Samaritan in turn angrily retorted, ‘let the blind man stumble on the apple again.’

What are you insinuating in essence with this tale?

It’s far from insinuation; I’m telling a life story. To start with, the world witnessed in 2013, when Obiano was spoon-fed to governorship by His Excellency, Mr Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra State. Obi was his godfather and I challenge him to publish the content of the apology he lately issued to the ex-governor.

For Obiano who came back from the United States with barely his hand luggage to now plant stories in newspapers castigating his kinsmen because they are contesting with him is very unfair. That’s why I said his tale is similar to that of the blind man and let’s see how he will stumble on apple again. This is especially with his crass clannishness, as very sensitive offices were handed over to his home town, leading to what is now termed the Agulerisation of Anambra State viz:- Willy Obiano, Governor; Phil Chinwuba, Commissioner for Works; Chinedu Obidigwe, Political Adviser;  Professor Asike, Chief of Staff; Evarist Obiano, Special Adviser (SA) Protocol; Obi Aniesedo, SSA Land; CY Obiano, SA Parks and Markets; Chinedu Aniakor, SA Dredging; Joy Nneli, SA Political; Law