PROF BENARD ODO: THE PRODIGAL SON THAT NEVER RETURNED

By Philip Nweze
At last, the mighty wind has blown and exposed the anus of the fowl! It is now official! Former Secretary to Ebonyi state government, Prof Benard Odo has finally blundered his way into the sinking ship of the All Progressive Congress, few months after he quit his plum job and all the perks of office. Just yesterday, he was spotted at the APC convention, at the Eagle Square Abuja, fully kitted in APC colours. The whispers and the sniping have been around for months, but yesterday came the full blown manifestation. Looking at the picture, I saw a man without a clear image of where he is coming from or going to over the next four years.
Without mincing words, the former SSG has made a monumentally bad judgement that is quite epic in nature by not checkmating the demons he permitted to corner him into this huge political mess. Politically, Odo is naive. He has been conned. For once, he failed to use the levers of common sense. Prof Odo will surely be facing the real possibility of political oblivion following his party's predictable crushing defeat in Ebonyi state come 2019. Obviously, his early years as a university teacher did not prepare him well for the rigours of political life.
This sets the stage for what is most likely going to be a dull and uneventful political career for the embryo politician.

Before he was snapped up by Governor David Umahi, Odo has perennially and precariously meandered in the corridors of failure. Now again, he is stuck in a political rut with some braindead politicians. What this means is that the inexperienced politician has singlehandedly banished himself into political wilderness. I will always remember 2018 as one of the rare moments that saw him make the greatest political miscalculation which makes it almost impossible for anyone to imagine an extension of his political career beyond the 2015 election.
Right now, Ebonyi APC is in shreds, divided irreconcilably between loyalists of party chairman, Ben Nwobashi and the other faction unofficially led by Ogbonnaya Onu. And the split is getting uglier by the day. presently, Ebonyi APC is full of backstabbing, and scheming and ass licking. And I wonder where Odo will stand in the unfolding political chess. Even if the academic had the most sophisticated political skills and all the resources in the world, it would be impossible to make any political impact in 2019. Moreover, 2019 is simply not for career politicians who move in and out of alliances.

Despite being one of the opposition arrowheads in 2015, Prof Odo was never assaulted, locked up, threatened or vilified by his former boss, the governor. Instead he enjoyed an elevation above other loyal PDP party men, but he repaid with ingratitude, spurious and unsubstantiated claims against his principal. In the eyes of many, the former scribe has torn his personal credibility to shreds by biting the hands that fed him.

Prof Odo is a man of many qualities, but he has failed as a politician. He should have the wisdom to admit as much – and to leave the scene with honour.