Information reaching us from different reliable sources points to the fact- that the ruling cabal in Nigeria has perfected plans to scuttle the upcoming gubernatorial election in Anambra State from the other contestants in favor of their desired candidate. It is also widely held that our campaigns are mere formalities, but that could not be further from the truth.
Although we have the unwavering trust in the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Mahmood Yakubu to execute this election in accordance with the law. But if certain political machineries are bent on rigging the election in favor of their anointed candidate, the Honorable Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah’s Campaign Organization, as peace loving Anambranians have stated categorically that they will not accept business as usual.
The Ifeanyi Ubah’s Campaign Organization will not hinge their hope on the legal system as a solution to affirm the mandate of the people. The will of all Anambranians must prevail at the polls and not in the court of laws. We also wish to remind the INEC that the international community is focused on whether they live up to their commitments as this election might be the beacon of unification or the disintegration factor of our already overheated polity.
The era of selective political process in Anambra State is over, and
Our constituent officers are well prepared to offset any irregularity that might be in the formation, including but not limited to using sophisticated modern technologies to expose such acts. We are simply asking for- a level playing ground that will augur for a free and fair election. It amounts to gross political miscalculation for any segment to run on the assumption- that Dr Ifeanyi Ubah’s Campaign Organization will accept the status quo of the past.
Honorable Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah has been campaigning relentlessly to disseminate his manifesto for our great state- with the hope that the vote of his loyal supporters will count. Having said this, we trust that INEC will use this golden opportunity to set a historic electoral standard that will be a precedent for all elections in Nigeria. Any subversive attempt to derail the will of the people will be countered with maximum and equal measures.
The early victory dance by Nnamdi Uba, Orji Uzor Kalu and their cohorts -which is circulating in the social media, underscores the lack of seriousness of purpose amongst these career politicians. These stunts are nothing but mere physcogical intimidation, which is designed to create voter apathy among our constituents. But we are guaranteeing all Anambranians that every one of their votes will count.
Our diaspora members are returning home in droves to witness and avert any irregularity that might be in the making. The melancholic polity in Anambra must be sanitized once and for all. We are calling on all our brothers and sisters to remain steadfast in their pursuit of tranquility in our state without fear of oppression of law enforcement authorities-because fear in itself is failure.
We urge all eligible voters to come out and vote for their desired candidate, and they should be rest assured that their vote will count and the candidate with the majority of the votes will emerge as the winner.
As I am concluding my piece, news of incessant killings of innocent civilians in Anambra State is trickling in by the day. The gruesome assassination style of Doctor Chike Akunyili and many other innocent souls at Nkpor Town in Anambra State is a clear indication of breakdown of law and order prior to the election.
As we mourn their demise of our kinsmen, we should not celebrate but rather mourn the departure of civility in our native Nigeria, because we are not an independent sovereign nation, but a nation entangled in myopic leadership since the departure of our disdained colonial rulers.
A country that is besieged by the evil handiwork of its citizens can not claim to be independent-because the enemy is within. We are our own worst enemy.
May God grant our willing leaders the wisdom to take the right course of action in this upcoming election to avoid truncating our state to a further state of anarchy.
Ike Agbatekwe
Editor@Large
Life and Times News
Los Angeles, California
