Anambra On The March Again

Casmir Igbokwe

The Anambra State governorship election comes up tomorrow being Saturday, November 6, 2021. From the conduct of party primaries to electioneering, it has been a potpourri of brickbats, drama and outright tension. The election itself promises to be no less eventful.

In Anambra, November 6 is sacrosanct. It is a day many candidates are called, but only one will be chosen. The leading candidates jostling for Governor Willie Obiano’s position are Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Mr. Valentine Ozigbo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Andy Uba of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) and Dr. Obiora Okonkwo of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP). Others could be regarded as also-rans.

On November 6, Anambra people want to make a statement. They want to show that money cannot buy their conscience and their votes. They want to show that rigging has no place in the state anymore. They want to elect a governor who will take the state to global reckoning.

Already, there is tension everywhere. Penultimate Friday, some unknown gunmen heightened that tension by engaging security men in a shootout. Two security operatives were reportedly killed. But this did not deter thousands of APGA faithful and Aguata citizens from trooping out for a rally for Soludo that same day. It was later reported that security men gunned down four of the gunmen at Nnobi community.

Good enough, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which earlier declared sit-at-home protest from Friday, November 5 to Wednesday, November 10, has cancelled the order. The organization said it was not interested in the Anambra election; that its major concern was in the release of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. It urged Anambra people to go out and vote.

On their part, the security agents should tread with caution. The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, assured Anambra people that the police were adequately prepared for the election and would do everything within their powers to ensure free and fair election in the state. To this end, some 34,587 policemen will provide security. In what the police called a major overhauling of the security landscape in Anambra ahead of the election, two Deputy Inspectors-General of Police, five Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, 14 Commissioners of Police, 31 deputy commissioners of police and 48 assistant commissioners of Police have also been deployed to Anambra to ensure adequate security for the election. This is quite massive.

But, similar great number of policemen was deployed in the off-season governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi States in 2019. The police deployed some 66,241 officers to the two states for the election. The conventional police officers were then complemented by Police Mobile Force, Special Protection Unit, Counterterrorism Unit, Special Forces, Intelligence Response Unit, Special Tactical Squad, Mounted Troops and so on.

Unfortunately, many of these security agents openly displayed partisanship. They reportedly aided party thugs to snatch ballot boxes, intimidate and harass voters and electoral officials. Besides, some fake policemen mingled with the genuine ones and nobody bothered to apprehend and prosecute the fake ones.

The police should not repeat this mistake in Anambra. They should be professional in their conduct and operations throughout the period of the election. Anambra people will not tolerate any fake police or even fake result of the election. Those who are bent on rigging the election should reflect on the words of Professor Soludo during his campaign tours: “A rat does not eat the food of someone who is awake.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be fully awake this time. The commission might have compromised in some other previous elections in the country. But in this Anambra election, it has promised to be above board.

INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, enthused that the commission had recovered from the series of attacks on its facilities. He expressed happiness that the electoral umpire had deployed all the non-sensitive materials to all the local government areas of the state. With the help of technology, INEC was able to get the telephone numbers and email addresses of the new registrants. And it promised to contact each and every one of them and tell them where to pick their cards. I can attest to this as I got an email detailing where and when to collect my voter card.  And I have collected it. With the increase in polling units in Anambra from 4,608 to 5,720, there is no excuse for any one not to exercise his franchise.  And verily, verily, I say to INEC, if it implements the electronic transfer of election results as promised, there may not be room for anybody to cry foul.

Voters themselves should beware of the lure of filthy lucre. Acolytes of some candidates will come to lure them with cash. They should bear in mind that such money is to buy their conscience. It is to pay for the future non-development of their area. For those who may want to collect the money out of poverty, they should please remember to vote according to their conscience, in spite of the money.

Anambra is a key state in the South-East. Even if someone emerged as governor from the fourth position in some other state, it should not be allowed to happen in that state. This is probably why the refrain in the state today is, ‘Anambra no be Imo’. The only thing that will prevent the state from being like Imo is vigilance: Vigilance on the part of the voters, vigilance on the part of INEC and vigilance on the part of all stakeholders who love Anambra state, the light of the nation.

History beckons on November 6. Anambra must point the way forward to 2023 general elections. There should be no room for any loophole. I am already rehearsing my victory dance steps. Soon, I shall return with a display of some of these steps. Congratulations to Anambrarians in advance!