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(By Chukwuemeka Echezona)

Chief Primus Odili could just be another victim of the treachery that underpins weird opposition in Anambra State politics. Other victims, in their numbers, are awaited as long as the whims of the sponsors are served. So it is that the overtly permissive social media space went agog with the news of a purported outright purchase of a $1.8m house in America by the Chief of Staff to the Government of Anambra State. Not surprised how much traffic and fire the disinformation caught in the extremely lax spectrum of the social media. Negative scripts, irrespective of whatever falsehoods that underscore them, often turn sensational and ready to serve the idiosyncratic yearnings of a large number of an inherently angry and gullible population across the globe. So it applies in the current mischievous hubbub making its rounds about house purchase in the United States.<!--more-->

Elections could ordinarily be explained out to be the last processes that birth new leadership amongst a people. But keen observers of elections in Anambra State, particularly the gubernatorial, would not fail to note a trend that could be classified as pre- and post election subterfuges and manoeuvres which characterize electioneering in the state. By this feature, all oppositions (in their divergent colorations and persuasions) barge into an ominously omnibus body of rabid adventurers pitted against an incumbent whom they desperately tug at to pull down in unison. This situation which throws up numerous spurious attacks on an incumbent governor and government does not spare any person or thing that is of the governor’s or government’s interest. The target is simply to persistently pronounce failure of governance as a tag on the incumbent. Since this could ordinarily be distracting, the opposition deploys it lavishly in seeking to undermine the government of the day. This is the scenario at play now in Anambra State as a result of the November, 2021 gubernatorial poll for which the tempo of political activities with the attendant subterfuges is gradually graduating.

The above preamble became necessary for a clearer understanding of the social media hype engineered by fellows of notable notoriety and their hypocritical allies whose joint blind fixation on negating Gov Obiano’s good governance would not permit to join ndi Anambra and other people of goodwill in celebrating the unprecedented security and prevailing sense of freedom that characterize Obiano’s Anambra. They will stop at nothing in their determination to pull Anambra State government down. Indeed, never, in the history of Anambra State, has the opposition displayed as much hate and willingness to deploy so much human and humongous material resources in calumnious campaigns against an incumbent government. Never before did a frontline opposition element with seemingly bottomless pocket make a public declaration about their desperation to unseat an incumbent; never had any vowed to spend the last drop of their blood in fighting a government that succeeded theirs. Such weighty threat to peace in the state permeates the weird character of opposition in the state. The tempers now are even more ferocious and giving rise to such hasty introductory hogwash as the Chief of Staff’s US outright house purchase narration.

By the way, if only rational reason should prevail without vestiges of vendetta, what is condemnable with one deploying one’s verifiable pedigree as a stable income earner in the US to negotiate a fair deal in the purchase of a house or whatever wherever, provided that one’s legitimate income status meets the terms of the transaction? More importantly when the transaction is statutory mortgage inclined. But for the inordinate passion to hurt the government of the day beyond Primus, the traducers who hurriedly authored the speculation would have seen through the foolery in launching such infantile campaign that has calumny marked all over it.

The import of this desperation about wresting power from Gov Obiano’s government should not be lost on the citizens of the state who are not willing to trade in the stability that Obiano’s government has entrenched with a reckless gamble with the future of the state and her people. Soon politically induced crimes would resume under the sponsorship of uncanny fellows who are more wont to foul mouthing than ready to add value to the play of fair politics in Anambra State.

Ndi Anambra are awake, alert and always willing to demonstrate overwhelming support for Obianos government that has freed them from the rage of violent crimes and bought them liberty. No distractions will make them detract from the bond that links good governance with the people’s support.

Chukwuemeka Echezona: a public affairs analyst writes from Ajalli