The persecution of Comrade Tony Nwoye - A gang-up against a generation

One watches with utter dismay the events playing out in the arena of Anambra politics with respect to the upcoming governorship elections. Various positions have been adopted by different groups. Issues and non-issues are being thrown up by politicians in their usual style of trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the non-discerning members of the electorate.
Claims of being ‘anointed’ candidates (by who?, I usually ask.) pervade the air.

The APGA propaganda machinery is rife with these claims. The unfounded message they are spreading to the uninformed is that President Jonathan has a secret pact with Governor Peter Obi. That the Anambra Governorship seat has been reserved for any Obi’s crony (hence the shameless manner in which he foisted his puppet as the APGA flag bearer) as a payback for his support to the president. If we are to go by these outlandish claims, President Jonathan is now the Anambra electorate. A man who professes and practices the rule of law is now being cheaply characterized as a ‘break and conquer’ leader who has elected to sign away the rights and the freedom of choice of an entire state as a reward for an outgoing governor to whom he owes his seat and perhaps his very life. Believe that and you will believe anything!! Notice that I did not bother mentioning the name of the APGA candidate in the above paragraph as he is nothing more than a mere appendage of Governor Peter Obi whose only intent is to continue to call the shot in Anambra state albeit through a proxy.

Ngige and his cohorts are reassuring their Arewa and Oduduwa paymasters in APC that they hold the title deed of Anambra state. They have successfully convinced them that all they need do is to roll out the cash and they will have this very important state that is a gateway to the South East region delivered to them on a platter. They have been going about boasting to all that this is a fait accompli. Anambra will be conscripted into the growing list of the radicalized opposition states that are threatening to make Nigeria inhabitable unless power is returned to the reactionary elements from the North and their co-travellers from the South West.

They are unashamedly in bed with avowed enemies of Ndigbo who of recent have taken to taunting us with tales of how they murdered our heroes in the past and have demonstrated their commitment to dispossessing us of our assets and driving out of their areas in ignominy. Those are the characters to which Ngige and his promoters are in bed with!

In the PDP, the combined forces of Andy Uba and Nicholas Ukachukwu are aligning with the afore-mentioned groups to make sure that the party does not field any candidate for the upcoming election. They have obviously gone into a pact with those threatening fire and brimstone should power not be returned to the feudalists that have held Nigeria hostage for the major part of our nationhood. They are leaving no stone unturned in this regard. From attempting to foist an illegal leadership on the party to organizing a kangaroo primary in which Andy emerged winner. From Ukachukwu dubiously compiling the delegates list with which the proper primary was conducted (and he was still beaten by miles!) to forging documents and running from one court to another in an attempt to delay justice. The sole aim of their two-pronged approach is to ensure that PDP’s duly nominated candidate in the person of comrade Tony Okey Nwoye is not allowed to participate actively in the election because of what this young man represents.

Ordinarily one should not jump into the fray whenever politicians are slandering themselves in their quest to clinch power. But this is not the usual politicians’ fight. It is a battle for the continued dominance of Anambra politics by the same names that over the years have brought us nothing but pains and penury, ignorance and ignominy. The Ubas, the Ngiges, the Peter Obis, the Ukachukwus, the Annie Okonkwos are names that have monopolised Anambra politics over the years with nothing, absolutely nothing, to show for it.

I am even more pained because the person that these forces are battling to suffocate and bully out of the race is the only one that represents the face of true change. He is the person that represents a real and genuine shift in the lever of power. Here is a true youth with a good head on his shoulders, ready to carry the banner of his generation in an epic confrontation with a generation synonymous with the purveyance of ignorance and perpetuation underdevelopment in our dear state. Our earnest prayers for a change of guard in the affairs of our dear state appears to have been answered by the emergence of this young man from the downtrodden generation. Tony represents the young, the masses, the women, the ordinary folks of our dear state whose lot it has been to bear the brunt of the bad leadership foisted on the hapless Anambra citizenry over the years. His emergence is a clear signal to the prime beneficiaries of the status quo that their time is up. It sent chills down their spine as these same folks that have stymied the growth and destiny of our state realized that indeed a new era is about to begin in our dear Anambra – an era of dynamic, vibrant and responsible leadership with a proven man of the people at the helm. An era in which the teeming youths of the state, with one of their own in-charge, will be enabled to take their destiny into their own hands so as to unleash the abundant potentials that members of the self-confessed ‘wasted generation’ have kept under lock and key for too long.

An era that threatens to diminish the sphere of influence of the demigods of Anambra politics as the impoverished youths of the state whom they have recruited and placed on miserly pittances are about to be given opportunities to express themselves, determine their destiny and in so doing, re-write their history. This, in summary, is what the candidature of Tony Nwoye represents. This is what these agents of repression and generational discrimination are fighting to nip in the bud. The various machinations, scheming and abuse of court processes are geared to this one end – that the younger elements will never be allowed to pilot the affairs of the state. Tony Nwoye is a big threat to this grand conspiracy hence the multi-faceted gang up against him.
But all progressive minded Anambrarians should rise up against these charlatans. All the youths of Anambra state should stand up to be counted. The women, the minorities and the oppressed should recognize this for what it truly is – an affront to their interest. They should all join hands and protest this gang-up against the candidature of Tony Nwoye. The young man does not boast of some deep war-chest with which to prosecute his election. He does not boast of connections in the high places. He does not have the well-oiled thuggery and rigging machinery that his adversaries boast of. All he has is his belief in his God, a belief in himself, a trust in his destiny and an unwavering faith in the ability of the youths and agents of progressive change in Anambra state to rise up and cast their lot with one of their own.

All he is asking for is that he be allowed to go to the polls to square up with the self-styled ‘giants’ of Anambra politics and let the masses decide with their votes in a free and fair election. That is not too much to ask! All these procedural manipulations, delays and abuse of judicial processes being thrown up are geared towards limiting the choice of the electorate on the day. They want an election in which Tony Nwoye the only true game changer in the fray is not on the ballot paper. They want to narrow the choice of the masses to that between ‘six’ and ‘half-a-dozen’ for that is what a choice from amongst all these other gladiators represents. But let them be told that they are not God and for all their famed ability at manipulating the electoral process,they do not yet possess the ability to silence an idea whose time is now. Gang-up or ‘gang-down’, Tony Nwoye sure represents the Anambra masses’ date with destiny. Let the political gangsters be told.

By Dr EKWUEME PETER C. - a medical doctor and a public affairs analyst. He lives in Enugu.

As the countdown to the Anambra governorship election tails off to the final day, it is common knowledge that one of the numerous candidates will emerge as the governor when the good people of Anambra would have cast their votes to select Peter Obi’s successor.

What is not common knowledge, however, is that Tony Nwoye, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the November 16 governorship election, was part of the civilian thug that assisted Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Ige who forcibly kidnapped the ‘illegal’ governor Chris Nwabueze Ngige in 2003.

It is also not common knowledge that Tony Nwoye led the irate arsonists that burnt down two radio stations in Anambra state, government vehicles, torched the state government house and held hostage members of the state House of Assembly ostensibly to force them to sign a document that Chirs Ngige, then governor of Anambra State, had resigned as governor in November 2004.

These illegalities came on the heels of a gentleman agreement between the self-imposed godfather of Anambra politics, Chief Chris Ubah, and Dr. Chris Ngige which had gone awry and Chris Ubah was bent on dealing with Ngige whom he felt had betrayed him and therefore was not to be trusted anymore.

Among the members of the Chris Ubah-led gang that destabilised Anambra in 2004 was Mr. Tony Nwoye, the PDP flag bearer in the forthcoming Anambra governorship election, who was president of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in 2004 and led a group of irate students to cause the debacle in Anambra, and Chief Obinna Uzoh, PDP guber aspirant who lost to Tony Nwoye in the PDP guber primaries and has made several attempts at the Anambra government house without success.

Others are Mr. Uchenna Emordi, who was the chairman of PDP in Anambra in 2004, and Mr. Ossy Nsugbe, known within political circles to be Chief Chris Ubah’s political errand boy.

In the unfolding political era, it will interest Anambra people to know that this gang of actors are not yet done with Anambra State as all plans are still in the offing to see that they take control of Anambra State by hook or crook.

Presently, the same group has propped up Mr. Nwoye as the candidate of the PDP with the backing of the political henchman of Anambra State, Chief Arthur Eze, who is Chris Ubah’s political godfather.

Is it this same Tony Nwoye that perpetrated all these punishable crimes against Anambra State that PDP is trying to foist on Anambra people? This newfound love between estranged godfathers and godsons is being fostered by no single reason beyond sharing the collective patrimony of Anambra people and Tony Nwoye is nothing but a point man and front for Chris Ubah and Arthur Eze.

How will an egghead state like Anambra that boasts of the likes of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Prof Chinua Achebe, Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu, Ikemba Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Prof Kenneth Onwuka Dike, Prof Chike Obi, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, and a host of others allow a gang of upstarts like Chris Ubah and Tony Nwoye to rule over them in this 21st century when excellence in business and governance defines the future?

At this juncture, it will be proper to state with all sense of modesty that the Igbo man, nay, the Anambra man, is blessed with a high Intelligence Quotient (IQ) by Providence and therefore should apply all available wisdom at their disposal including street wisdom in choosing their governor.

This is definitely a defining moment in the lives of Anambra people and any wrong choice in electing the next governor will certainly pull Anambra back to the dark days of Chris Ubah-Chris Ngige debacle.
- See more at: http://naija247news.com/2013/11/12/tony-nwoye-chris-ubah-led-gang-destroyed-anambra-2004/#sthash.sGLCDxZo.dpuf