I am writing this article to correct some misconceptions of the APC in the South-East and its consequences. This is my personal opinion despite being aware that some people from this part of the country might not agree with me but they should also consider and have it in mind that what they consider as not good for the goose might be good for the gander and that’s life.The same APC they are blackmailing is the same party that is being embraced in other parts of the country. The recent decampment of five PDP governors is a serious pointer.That APC did not win in Anambra does not mean that they cannot win in Lagos, Kano or Borno. Since the merger that brought about this party, it has suffered lots of onslaughts and blackmails that it’s a Yoruba party, Hausa party or a Muslim party and the deportation brouhaha.Peter Obi was exposed to have “deported” hundreds of other people prior to the Fashola “deportation” saga, but it was the same Peter Obi who dubiously used it as a propaganda to blackmail APC and tarnish the image of the party in the South-East in his desperation to deliver APGA at all costs.All these allegations, although unfounded and deceitful, are being embraced by a section of the populace and it is very dangerous when some people who call themselves leaders, despite knowing the truth, prefer to use falsehood to achieve their aim, leaving their followers to suffer in ignorance .Presidential spokesman, Doyin Okupe has predicted in his usual ignorant position that APC will collapse before the full merger. Today, its more than five months since the merger and the party has waxed stronger.Then, some confused tribalistic minds came up with a theory that politicians from the east and west can never work together. Well, some of them have not cared to make a research that Micheal Okpara was leader of the UPGA, an alliance of NCNC and remnants of imprisoned Awolowo-led AG in the 1965 elections.Some myopic-minded individuals also hinted that there is no way that Buhari and Tinubu can work together or that Buhari cannot work with Igbos. Please be informed that both Buhari and Tinubu are just members of APC and both are wise men that know where this merger is heading to.Recently, a former member of the presidential committee on the just introduced confab, Col Nyiam revealed that Buhari has always preferred to work with Igbo military officers during his military period. Col. Nyiam, as an outspoken person, has known Buhari personally since the outbreak of the civil war.Then recently, another school of thought with its spokesman in the person of Senator Jonathan Zwingina hinted that the Yoruba can never agree with the north.He justified his position with the last horse trading accord of 2011 between Jonathan and Tinubu that helped Jonathan to win the South-West. It is likely that Senator Zwingina will get the shock of his life.Back to the South-East, there is no positive justification to vote against the APC with regards to these cheap and unfounded speculations. PDP has held firm here for 12 years and has nothing to show for it. It is not a hidden thing.After all in 1999, we had in the APP (later ANPP) the like of Chief Iwuanyanwu, Arthur Nzeribe, Ogbonnaya Onu, Ifeanyi Araraume, George Moghalu, Evan Enwerem and a host of others, but all of them excluding Ogbonnaya Onu and George Moghalu decamped to the PDP. The APP later metamorphosed into ANPP and later APC.These heavyweights could have been members of APC today if they had stayed back in ANPP with an example of Chief Ogbonnaya Onu and George Moghalu and their counterparts in Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, etc. They were not chased out of the party but for reasons best known to them, they preferred to be with the party in power.The same was with the formation of AC, ACN to APC. As a member of AC since 2006, to ACN and now to APC, I can give a small history of the South-East participation in the party. AC was formed by most national stakeholders who took part in the successful anti-third term project led by Atiku. After the unsuccessful 2007 elections, many of the foundation members who could have stayed behind to further strengthen the party in the South-East retreated to the PDP. They are the vice presidential candidate, Senator Ben Obi, John Nwodo, Okwesilieze Nwodo, Dubem Onyia and host of former national house members like Greg Egu and others whom I cannot remember, went back to the PDP with Atiku.My argument is that many of our Igbo brothers played major roles in the formation of these parties that later merged into APC but instead of staying to consolidate, they left of their own accord to the ruling PDP.I want to know at what point that ACN/ANPP became a South-West, northern or Muslim party when prominent Igbos played major roles in their formations but abandoned these parties for “greener pastures” called PDP. They, together with their other compatriots spread all over the country, went to PDP to either play national politics or to have a share of the national cake.An Igbo proverb says that it is when you marry two husbands that you know which one is the best. PDP has never fielded any Igbo man as a presidential or vice presidential candidate but AC and ANPP have fielded Igbos as vice presidential candidates at various times in 2003, 2007 and 2011. So, which formation really loves the Igbos more if we have to judge from this perspective?So, it’s really shameful when someone comes to say that Igbos don’t have a stake in the APC formation that has respected our aspirations in the past.One of my friends wrote that notwithstanding that Imo is APC, that PDP will win the presidential election there. I don’t want to argue but my argument is why some people are so much concerned about who wins in Imo State.Will Jonathan win the general elections if he wins only in Imo State and the entire South-East? Also, remember that the northern states of Niger, Katsina, Gombe, Bauchi, Jigawa, though currently PDP states, are likely going to vote against Jonathan.I keep on advising PDP supporters and reporters that they should not lose sleep about the East. I am not trying to dispute Jonathan’s landslide or moon slide in the East.You guys should worry about what happens in other zones too, because the South-South/South-East and some South-central together with their weak numerical voting strength cannot deliver Jonathan.Ask yourselves these questions.1- Will Jonathan’s victory in the South-East guarantee him total victory if the whole North-West/North-East and South-West with their superior numerical strength vote against him? Go and check and compare the voting strength of current PDP controlled states (28 million plus including likely swing states of Niger, Katsina, Gombe, Bauchi,Jigawa, and APC controlled states (35 million plus)Note that I included the voting strength of those likely Northern swing states to Jonathan despite the fact that they will vote against him.What’s the voting strength in Imo State and the entire Southeast compared to only one APC controlled state of Kano?I hope that those myopic minds using the Anambra election to generalize the outcome of the 2015 elections will have a rethink. Since the election, I have been bombarded with attacks here in Owerri. It seems that some people were just waiting for the outcome of the election to erroneously pronounce the death of APC in the entire Southeast and Nigeria on the whole.It beats me how some people can use the incident in Anambra to arrive at a conclusion. That the South-east will vote for “Ebele” (Chukwu) is true, but that will not save him.
Chiagorom can be contacted via ositac@yahoo.com