It is difficult to watch the orchestra Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo is currently conducting in the state.
Watching him shout himself hoarse over the ambitions of one of his predecessors in the state to be president of Nigeria borders on the embarrassing.
For one thing, the jury is still out on Soludo. It takes guts and wits to govern Anambra State and its battle-hardened electorate. Even those unfamiliar with Nigeria`s political terrain will attest to this. Soludo won staggered elections last year after previous failed attempts and for all anyone knows,he the champion economist is yet to work any economic miracles in the state. Instead, in a very inauspicious case of the morning telling the day, Soludo appears to favour flitting like a songbird from one tree of controversy to the other while leaving his primary responsibility as state governor largely unattended to.
But just how soon until the branches get tired of his weight and wings and snap under him?
Peter Obi`s overwhelming popularity
Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Nigerian election terrain has witnessed an unprecedented interest since Mr. Peter Obi, a former Governor of Anambra State entered the fray.
The difference between Mr. Obi`s presence in the race and that of those who have run strongly for the country`s highest office in the past is that while many others called on all manner of political patronage and peanuts to sell themselves to Nigerians, Mr. Obi has chosen the road less travelled of prudence and performance to craft a bewitching image that has captured the imagination of millions of people across Nigeria, including many of Nigeria`s young people.
This unprecedented wave washing over Nigeria`s political terrain has not gone down well with many Nigerian politicians, especially those of them cut from the business-as-usual cloth.
Since the Peter Obi phenomenon began, there has been all manner of reactions from many Nigerian political veterans to show that they have been caught cold by the fact that Mr. Peter Obi is promising a new way of doing things if he is elected president, and for the first time in a very long time, someone who is daring to be radically different is not bluffing.
For many Nigerian politicians, their overwhelming response has been one of jealousy and envy. Ever devious and jealous, they have been careful to mask their envy behind political pragmatism and realism.
Jealousy jutting out from home
Like many Nigerian politicians who are simply jealous of Peter Obi, Soludo cannot seem to wrap his head around the fact that someone has impossibly and improbably built a proper political career out of defying the odds in Nigeria.
Thus, he recently took leave of the enormous task facing him as Governor of Anambra State to take potshots at the candidacy of Mr. Peter Obi. Firstly, he took little time to dismiss the much vaunted achievements of Mr. Obi when he was governor of Anambra State before taking more time out to outrightly dismiss the beeline Mr. Obi is making for Nigeria`s highest office.
It is not entirely clear whether Soludo is the eel that now thinks itself the python, but what is abundantly clear is the fact that in taking leave of the enormous responsibilities that confront him as governor of Anambra State where he is said to have performed poorly so far to dabble into that which does not really concern him, he has stirred the hornets` nest and they are bound to hunt him for some time to come.
Like Mr. Obi, Soludo is from Anambra State in the southeast where people have for decades clamoured for the president of Nigeria to come from among them to no avail. Mr. Peter Obi was governor of Anambra State many years before Soludo became Governor after many failed attempts.
Given everything that the Peter Obi candidacy represents a historic opportunity to rescue Nigeria from the horrid mess of past administrations one of which Soludo himself served, he would have been better served supporting it, or keeping his odious opinions to himself because whether or not Peter Obi becomes president next year, the political tempest he has unleashed will in the near future sweep away politicians like Soludo whose illusions of grandeur are just as grand and as grating as their incompetence.
When he will be forced to swallow back his words, it is hoped he does not choke on them.
Kene Obiezu,
Twitter: @kenobiezu
