Oyibo Chukwu: When Politics Becomes A Pyre

Oyibo Victor Chukwu, who was the candidate of the Labour Party(LP) for the Enugu East Senatorial District was killed three days before the election of February 25. His death has  opened old wounds.

Nigeria’s return to democracy was finally confirmed on May 29, 1999, when Olusegun Obasanjo was sworn in as president.

A new president, a new constitution, a new National Assembly, new governors and a revitalised democracy were expected to give fresh impetus to a country that had stalled under corrupt military regimes.

The chaotic presidential election of 1993 which saw the death of M.K.O Abiola, the winner, and Kudirat, his wife, who was assassinated, had allowed Sani Abacha to seize power in a military coup that kept the military in power for five years until Abacha died in 1998.

By 1999, Nigeria was an old country with a new beginning on a familiar path. The country had witnessed elections previously. The elections were not perfect, but largely smooth. The return of democracy meant elections and a peaceful change of government.

Olusegun Obasanjo peacefully received power in 1999 and handed over to Umaru Yar’adua in 2007. Upon Yar’adua’s death in 2010, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan received power, which he handed to Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. Buhari will hand over to Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023, unless the courts say otherwise.

In his short time as the national leader of the LP, Peter Obi has revitalised the party to such an extent that a party once derided for having no structures will have at least forty seats when the 10th National Assembly is inaugurated.

A seismic performance In the presidential election fetched the party over six million votes at the first time of asking, as opposition strongholds were taken.

Many Nigerians believe that Peter Obi won the presidential election, and expect the courts to say so.

As democracy returned to Enugu State in 1999, Chimaraoke Nnamani became governor under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He swapped the Enugu State government house for the Senate when his eight-year rule ended in 2007. By then, the Ebeano political family, under the PDP, was firmly entrenched in the politics of Enugu State. Under the iron fist of Nnamani, Ebeano determined who got what in Enugu politics. His political opponents were quickly and completely neutralized.

For years, political parties like the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the All Progressives Congress (APC), and others all tried but failed to dislodge the PDP, and Ebeano. They could not have known that the nemesis of the cabal that had held Enugu State to ransom would come from Anambra State, and ironically in the shape of someone well-known to the PDP.

In May 2022,Peter Obi dumped the PDP for the LP, under pressure from his sea of supporters. His entrance into the LP immediately roused a slumbering giant.

The party recovered its identity across the country to post a remarkable showing in the 2023 presidential election, posing a mortal threat to the existing state of affairs across many states.

In Enugu State, the mortal threat posed by the LP to the PDP and Ebeano was more pronounced. In the contest for the Enugu North Senatorial District, the LP and Barrister Okey Ezea, its candidate, defeated Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the incumbent Governor and a key member of the Ebeano group. The margin of victory spoke of the anger of the marginalized.

Peter Obi has been accused of playing ethnic and religious politics. But it was telling that Ike Ekweremadu and Nnamani, two prominent Igbo politicians, and key players in the Ebeano political structure, had openly criticized his ambition.

If the LP, and Barr. Okey Ezea, crushed Ugwuanyi’s embryonic senatorial ambition even before it began, Nnamani, a serving senator since 2019, read the handwriting on the wall.

On Wednesday, February 22, 2023, Oyibo Victor Chukwu, the LP candidate for the Enugu East Senatorial District, was killed and set ablaze by unknown gunmen in Amechi, Enugu South Local Area, while returning from a meeting.

The Chukwu family In a statement has since blamed Ebeano for the murder of their son, while Ebeano has denied any involvement. The police are investigating.

If the trend holds, Oyibo’s murder will go down as one of many unsolved political murders in Nigeria. In 2001,Bola Ige, Nigeria’s Minister of Justice and Attorney-General was gunned down as the midday sun looked on in Ibadan, Oyo state. His ghost  haunts Nigeria until now. In July 2006, Funsho Williams, who was set to win the 2007 Governorship election in Lagos State was killed. His killers are yet to be apprehended. In November 2022, Victoria Chimtex, the Labour Party woman leader in Kaduna State was killed by gunmen.

In Ebonyi State, politically motivated killings have continued since David Umahi,the state governor, decamped from the PDC to the APC, and set up Ebubeagu to hunt his political opponents.

What makes Nigerian politics so attractive that many will kill to retain power? What has it become so easy to kill others because of politics and get away with it?

Oyibo’s death forced the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the election. The LP has replaced Oyibo with Kelvin, his younger brother.

The people of Enugu East Senatorial District should ensure that Chukwu’s sacrifice to emancipate the zone from the stranglehold of a greedy group is not in vain.

 

 

 

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