Chief Victor Umeh is greatly aroused. There is no doubt he has worked hard, including going some extra mile to have the order that vitiated his office as National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) vacated. But to what extent he is to waltz in the euphoria of victory depends on so many factors. Already the case has been appealed at the apex court even as his victory at the appellate court is nothing but a flash in a pan.

I have come to realise, rather late, that politicians are the worst people to trust. Until he secured that victory after certain amount of money was said to have exchanged hands, Umeh gave the impression he was a saint. He shouted at rooftops that the victory against him at the high court was induced. Nothing he did not allege, saying that Governor Peter Obi was harassing him with money. That was when his own financier had issues with oil subsidy probe. At that point Umeh was almost going cap in hand to make peace with APGA. But once his meal ticket of governorship candidate was set free, Umeh rebuffed all attempts at redress. Today he is the one harassing everybody, including the judiciary, with money. Even as the appeal court victory was secured at a price, heralding Umeh’s nunc dimitis, it is important he realises that he still paddles in a troubled ocean. Until the rotten tooth is out, the mouth, it is said, must chew with caution.

Even with the money said to have been made available by an oil merchant, eager at Umeh’s instance to be governor, he must do better than this. It is because of the same businessman that he is ready to break his scrotum and savour the water. Going against the run of the party and the interest of his governor, and making same appear a populist cause, is most criminal. Though he may strive to run along with victory but it is one race he will eventually lose. How?

Apart from the purported victory coming late in time to be of consequence on the new executive of the party, the real issue of choosing Obi’s successor is what he has since lost. I am yet to be convinced that the locals in some remote areas of the state will prefer to vote for Umeh’s candidate rather than a candidate who will continue with Obi’s development strides in the state. I have asked myself why will electorate in Anambra State, hitherto constrained to drive on bad roads, have their children school under trees and without proper supervision, had to go to Enugu for customary court of appeal cases, be subjected to summary death by incongruous security outfits, board other state carriers to travel outside the state, be consumed by erosion, work in scattered huts as secretariat, have delayed promotions, have dysfunctional state university without a teaching hospital, have all hospital in the state without accreditation etc want to vote for someone who is set to lure them with kerosene gift.

Again, I am convinced that Umeh is not conscious of what he does. And it won’t be long before he recognises his folly. He is already building a Frankenstein monster which will not take as long as he stayed with Obi before consuming him. What he is seeing now is little compared with what form the masquerade he is creating will assume in time. At that time he will need more than invocation of spirit of the dead Ikemba to stay alive. The invocation of spirit, it must be admitted, is in recognition of the enormity challenges facing him. By then he will become spirit himself. By that time he will be blind to wend his way to the home of the late Ezeigbo. Otua ka odi!!

*Orakwue Chikelue is a public and political affairs analyst. • Photo shows Chief Victor Umeh.

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