At 79, the acclaimed ‘Mr Fix It’ of Nigerian politics appears to be in a fix. Unlike previous governorship elections in 1999 and 2003, the July 14 poll in his native Edo State is unlikely to be a walk over for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has been in opposition for four years in the state.
Will Tony Anenih, Iyasele of Esanland and frontline politician from Uromi, sway the votes from the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to his party? Will Governor Adams Oshiomole kiss the dust before the maverick politician? Is the pre-1999 Anenih the same as Anenih of today?
The gladiator, who had earned a reputation of a cat with nine lives, is fighting a titanic battle in the twilight of his chequered political career. Many believe that the forthcoming political fight is actually between the old warhorse and the comrade-governor. Thus, July 14 will be a deciding factor for the consummate politician, schemer and strategist.
His candidate, Charles Airhiavbere, a retired General of the Nigerian Army, is on the rostrum. Indisputably, he faces a formidable opponent in the incumbent governor, who is not leaving anything to chances. In Edo, this is a season of political ego. Anenih, who has been politically deserted by the likes of Brig-Gen. Sam Ogbemudia (rid), Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor, and other party bigwigs, is fighting hard for power shift. But observers contend that PDP is struggling from a position of disadvantage.
Feelers suggest that Airhiavbere carries the huge burden of convincing Edo people to vote for PDP without being able to tender the achievements of PDP governments at the state and federal levels. Unlike Oshiomhole who can easily point to an array of achievements, especially on-going projects, on campaign grounds, the PDP challenger is not a tested politician.
However, hope is the elixir for his grand packager and backbone, Anenih, who has has been on the front line since the Second Republic. With Justification, he may rely on old glory as one of the conquerors of the political space. Only naive actors would underrate his capability.
In 1981, Anenih came to the limelight. His first political battle was fought with vigour and zeal. As a retired Commissioner of Police, he surprisingly displaced the late Chief Tony Enahoro as the Bendel State chairman of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). He went ahead to confront the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) Governor Ambrose Ali, by rallying forces to install Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia as governor for three months. That marked the beginning of his meteoric rise to fame.
In the Third Republic, he bounced back. However, he found himself among a mixture of leftist and rightist politicians being tossed around by former military President Ibrahim Babangida. The uneasy cohabitation later shaped the diverse response to the critical “June 12” question on the shaky platform.
When Ambassador Babagana Kingibe vacated the SDP national chairmanship, Alhaji Shehu Yar’Adua’s group, Peoples Front, which later became known as PDM, installed Anenih as chairman. He was on that exalted seat when Chief Moshood Abiola and Kingibe defeated Alhaji Bashir Tofa and Dr. Sylvester Ugoh of the National Republican Convention (NRC) at the June 12 election.
However, when the historic poll was criminally annulled, the national chairman failed to defend the mandate. While political leaders and rights activists were agitating for de-annulment, Anenih and Kingibe looked the other way. Anenih’s aloofness enraged many politicians in the land. But those close to him said that it was his unique style. For him, the 1995 Constitutional Conference, where he was a delegate, was also an interlude of a sort.
When civil rule was restored in 1999, Anenih emerged as a founding father of the PDP. He was one politician the late Chief Bola Ige saw in PDP at the formative stage and chose to stay away. When anxious reporters sought to know why the Cicero of Esa-Oke distanced himself from the eminent politician, and indeed, Chief Arthur Nzeribe, he explained that he feared being contaminated by the Abacha virus. Both Anenih and Ige later served as ministers under the PDP administration.
Anenih was Gen. Shehu Yar’Adua’s campaign manager during the botched presidential primaries. He did more than that for General Olusegun Obasanjo (rtd), who made him Works Minister and member of his kitchen cabinet. In fact, Obasanjo, who held him in awe, called him “My Leader”, to the amusement of other chieftains who nodded affirmatively. But it is on record that the former Minister of Works combined his ministerial responsibilities with grand politicking. Many have insisted that his passion for high wire politics may have diverted Anenih’s attention from fighting the infrastructure battle. Under his ministry, federal roads became death traps and critics alleged that the huge money voted for construction and rehabilitation went down the drain. Anenih fired back, saying that he did not steal a penny.
A dependable ally of Obasanjo, he had declared in 2002 that there was no vacancy in Aso Rock. Other PDP presidential aspirants developed cold feet. He, the late Chief Sunday Afolabi, and other conservative prepared the ground again for the General’s re-election. Obasanjo had always relied on Anenih in fighting intra-party battles in the PDP. He was powerful; and so was his wife, Josephine, former Women Leader and Women Affairs Minister. A proof of Anenih’s influence also came in 2007 at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, during the governorship rerun between Mrs. Hilda Williams and Senator Musiliu Obanikoro. The Electoral Officer, Real Admiral Ogundele, declared Mrs. Williams winner. But on getting to Abuja, Anenih reported to the PDP’s National Executive Committee (NEC) that Obanikoro won. His report was upheld and the party announced in Abuja that the senator was its flag bearer in Lagos State.
But the tide bagun to change for the powerful man in 2007. It was certain that Edo was slipping from his firm grip. Although PDP had ruled the state for eight years, 2007 poll was a different ball game. The former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Oshiomhole, had returned home to challenge the political establishment in Edo to a duel. He appealed to the people to halt the dangerous trend of godfatherism in the state. The people pondered on the special request.
The veteran labour leader faced the PDP candidate, Osunbor, in the ring. While the PDP relied on the strength of his party, police and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Oshiomhole, who ran on the platform of the Action Congress (AC) ran to the masses for help. Although he won the election, INEC, then a parastatal of the PDP, allotted victory to the loser. When Oshiomhole picked up the gauntlet, the battle shifted from the ballot box to the courtroom. Following the restoration of the stolen mandate, it was evident that PDP merely relied on rigging to survive in the state.
Anenih and his co-travelers were still facing the post-election heat at home when Obasanjo cleverly edged him out as chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT).
Out of power, many PDP chieftains in the state were left in the cold. Anenih, it was said, decided who got what, where and how. Soon, a crisis broke out in the fold. Ogbemudia, former two-time governor and former minister, rejected Anenih’s leadership. At a time, the party paraded two parallel executive committees. from 2008 to date, the intra-party crises have continued to escalate. Prof. Osunbor, who had parted away with Anenih, has shown solidarity with Oshiomhole to spite of the Leader. In droves, many PDP chieftains, including former state chairman and women leader, dumped the sinking ship for ACN.
However, Anenih is unperturbed by the decimation of his party. He is not a warrior that will easily give up a fight. He is not known to surrender in battle. Party sources said that he had already convinced President Goodluck Jonathan that the ‘Edo Project 2012’ is a worthwhile political investment that could make PDP bounce back to power in July. Now, Vice President Namadi Sambo is going to lead the campaign for the Edo election, which an Osun PDP chieftain, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, said was critical to the party’s future survival and relevance in the state.
The chief is consoled that PDP has not entirely faded away in Edo. Die-hard stalwarts may be few, but a number of people still maintain an abiding faith in the distressed party.
In Edo State, it may be easy for the PDP to enlist the support of the Presidency and the police again. But, will INEC repeat the mistake of 2007? Will observers and monitors close their eyes to electoral terrorism? And how would the people react?
| Posted: at | |
TRENDING GISTS 
Drama In Abia as 80-Year-Old Man Divorces His 70-Year-Old Wife, Accuses Son of Kidnapping
NDLEA Uncovers Drug-Hiding Fuel Tanker In Shocking Bust (Video)
JAMB Raises Alarm As Exam Fraud Surges in 2025 UTME — Anambra, Lagos Lead In Arrests
Speeding Truck Crushes Dispatch Riders To Death in Fatal Collision On Eko Bridge
Plateau Dry Cleaner Praised For Returning Cash Found In Customer’s Jeans (Photo)
Football Superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Future In Doubt As Al-Nassr Crisis Deepens
AMVCA 2025: Seven Doors & Lisabi: The Uprising Light Up Nollywood’s Biggest Night (Full Winners)