Wednesday,Jun 30,2010
Jonathan, Babangida and the Sword of Damocles
In the Sword of Damocles, the Roman politician and philosopher Cicero tells the story of Dionysius II, a king who r.... By Jideofor Adibe
Wednesday,Jun 23,2010
Attahiru Jega and the Search for a Nigerian Hero
Nigerians seem to be in constant search for public heroes - competent little messiahs who will not hesitate to put .... By Jideofor Adibe
Thursday,Jun 17,2010
The Return of Mallam Ribadu
Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the one time strongman of the financial crime buster EFCC, who sneaked out of Nigeria into self.... By Jideofor Adibe
Thursday,Jun 17,2010
Too Many Captains…
Two major attributes that have been quite easy to discern about President Goodluck Jonathan are: one, he seems to l.... By Ijeoma Nwogwugwu
Thursday,Jun 10,2010
Should Suspects Be Paraded?
The above question is generating increasing furore among our intellectuals, and ‘beer parlour’ politica.... By Jideofor Adibe
Thursday,Jun 10,2010
Nigeria: A Two Party System By Legislation?
Perhaps enamoured by the seeming ease with which two dominant political parties trod the political landscape of, at.... By Joel Nwokeoma
The February 6, 2010 gubernatorial election in Anambra state has come and gone. Governor Peter Obi has been announced winner of the election. Several candidates in the election, while condemning the irregularities in the poll, indicated that they had no plans to challenge its outcome at the election tribunals. Chukwuma Soludo, the PDP candidate, was the first to congratulate Peter Obi, but later recanted. Chris Ngige, the AC candidate, has indicated he will challenge INEC’s declaration of Obi as the winner, arguing that the APGA candidate did not fulfil the constitutional requirement that a candidate must secure 25 percent of the total votes cast in at least two-thirds of the local government areas in the state. Obi insisted that he did. As victory sinks in, and with it triumphalism and its repercussions, it is not clear whether others that had earlier accepted the announced outcome of the election will change their mind.
There are several observations about the election:
One, the conduct of the campaigns was issues-based, with little of the mudslinging, violence and the use of thugs, which appear to have become part of the country’s political culture. This could in part be because of the quality and maturity of the candidates, and in part because all the candidates were conscious that too many eyes were on them. We must not forget the tolerance and civility that characterised much of the campaign – irrespective of any post election dispute that may arise.
Obi’s public persona also means that, like Obasanjo, his opponents are sometimes unable to see the political plots in some of his moves. For instance when he made town unions the fourth tier of government early in the life of his regime, very few people foresaw that he was building a ‘partnership’ with the town unions, perhaps with an eye for his re-election campaign. It will not come as a surprise if the ‘apolitical’ Obi, who once indicated he would not seek re-election, and who remained unruffled at criticisms that he was doing nothing to build APGA as the party to beat in the state, uses his second term in office to plot for a higher political outing for himself.
Articles published on this website are reviewed before publication, which means there may be a delay between the time you sent your article and its appearance on the website. Holler Africa! reserves the right to edit articles for style and length.
