THISDAYonline

Something new is happening in the political landscape of Imo state. The opposition parties in the state, notably, the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the United Nigeria Peoples Party (UNPP), the National Democratic Party (NDP) and the Alliance for Democracy (AD) are planning to form a coalition against the ruling party - the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the purpose of the forthcoming gubernatorial elections.

The calculation goes as follows. The five opposition parties have analysed the possible voting pattern in the elections and are convinced that PDP would score the highest number of votes and will consequently have the incumbent governor returned for a second term. In order to ensure that this becomes an uphill task for the PDP, the game plan is to get APGA and AD candidates Ezekiel Izuogu and Hope Uzodinma respectively who are from the same zone as the incumbent, Chief Achike Udenwa to infiltrate Orlu zone not as real candidates but as spoilsports. The expectation is that the fringe candidates from Orlu zone would do damage to the bloc votes which Udenwa hopes to reap from the zone. The other candidates from Owerri and Okigwe zones, namely Humphrey Anumudu, Martin Agbaso (Owerri) and Emeka Nwajiuba (Okigwe) are expected to control the votes from their own zones. If this script is played out neatly, the expectation again is that the race for the office of governor in the race would produce no clear winner in the first ballot. A run-off would then take place at which point the five opposition parties would vote for any one of them that comes closest to the PDP votes.

This, in a nutshell, is how the opposition parties in the state hope to have a foothold in the April 19 governorship elections. This calculation must be put in its proper perspective. To a large extent, it shows that the opposition parties are scared stiff of the PDP. In other words, they have come to recognise the fact that their candidates cannot successfully do electoral battle with Chief Achike Udenwa. If we stretch this logic further, we will be saying that the other candidates have admitted the electoral superiority of Udenwa and are doing all they can to spoil his chances.

Put differently, the candidates massed up against Udenwa are not running the race on the basis of what they think they are. They give the impression that they do not have a personality or an image except that which they manage to put together through their rainbow coalition. It also means that without this coalition. It also means that without this coalition each of the candidates can hardly stand election on his own. What this logically translates to is that Udenwa is, strictly speaking, the sole candidate in the Imo governership race for 2003. From the posturing which the other candidates have collectively adopted, Udenwa is the only candidate that has a personality, an image and a name of his own. Others have made themselves appendages to one another. Without each component part, the entire edifice would collapse. This arrangement leaves us with only one bloc in the Imo gubernatorial race- the one that has a formidable and identifiable structure represented by Udenwa. What is left after this is an amorphous and nameless collective represented by all and yet by none. The contest then is between an image and a name formed and nurtured through rigorous association with people and institutions and a loose amalgam of political hustlers whose variegated platforms also betray the lack of cohesion and unity of purpose within their ranks.

Between these divides, who would you say have something at stake? Is it the governor who has built goodwill in the last four years or the emergency politicians who have now happened on the political scene like accidents? Of course you know the correct answer. We know that governance is not the same thing as a hurriedly arranged meeting whose purpose is only meant to disrupt an existing order.

Governance is about vision. It is a plan of action borne out of conviction and the desire to make a positive difference in the lives of those you aspire to serve. Between Udenwa and the motley crowd of gubernatorial candidates, the choice is clear. the people will choose the man they know. They will choose the man who has in the last four years readily and steadily provided them with the good things of life. The network of roads that the Achike Udenwa administration has done will speak for him. The aggressive electrification projects of the state government under Udenwa are indices of good governance. Other basic amenities like pipe borne water are there to tell the good story of democracy in the state. Modern housing estates now beautify the state capital. There is a boom in business activities. Indeed, the state has been opened up for greater economic activities by the present government.

These are enviable strides. They are achievements that call for consolidation. They are not things that anybody can wish away or pretend as if they do not exist. They are solid landmarks which the state should cherish and ensure that the string of achievements are taken beyond four years. It is in the light of this that the re-election campaign of Chief Achike Udenwa makes the greatest sense. Since he flagged off his campaign, the governor has been touring local governments as well as towns and villages that make up the state. In almost all of them, the governor has had one project or the other to commission. When it is not a water project, it is electricity or road. Those who already have these amenities have other things to go home with. New schools, renovated ones, and those equipped with modern learning facilities are all over the place. All these put the state in good stead to continue to rank very well as a frontline state in the area of educational development.

This story of success should continue. It is a story which should take us to 2007. Then, Udenwa would have left a solid legacy for another administration to follow. Then too, the crowd that is planning to coalesce would have understood what governance is all about so that they could then join the real progressives in the state to take Imo state to greater heights. Today, that crowd does not inspire confidence. Some of the candidates for instance, have been around for some time. But their man problem is that they have not really been in touch with the people. Even as the campaigns have reached advanced stages, their highest trump cards rest on their ability to parade big names. Some of them are hoping to gain relevance by acting as Man Fridays to some famous politicians. But they need to be reminded that fame and reputation are not forced. They are earned. Governor Achike Udenwa, certainly, has earned his respects. When he came into the scene in 1999, he was little known. That explained why some people quickly dismissed him as a man who cannot perform well in office. They did not give him the chance to prove himself. But he was not distracted by all that, He remained focused inspite of the malicious criticisms. Today, the story of Udenwa is that of the humble public servant who ventured into politics with little hope only to become the much sought after cornerstone.

Those who aspire to take over from Udenwa should take a lesson in how not to be over ambitious. Power comes from God. Udenwa is God's own hand-maid. He was anointed to serve. So far, he has done all that with the fear of God.

Those who want to serve should learn how to walk first. To do this, they should leave Udenwa alone. They should not make him the focus of their campaigns. What the people expect from them is to draw their own plan of action and face the people with such plans.

The people expect to see something that is superior to what the present government has in place. Once that is the case, they will begin to take those aspirants serious.

As it is today, Udenwa is the only candidate among the many in the state who has a development agenda. The rest are talking on the hunch. They are appealing to sentiments and emotions. They are telling stories of death and violence as if they are insulated from these vices. They have resorted to blackmail as if the good people of the state will live and die with such barren pastimes. Yet, issues are begging to be confronted. They are neither talking about industry nor commerce. They are not interested in education. They care nothing about social amenities. At least, that is what their silence on these issues suggests. By now, the people have become accustomed to the poverty of ideas plaguing the flock of gubernatorial hopefuls in the state. And this has made their reliance and confidence in Udenwa very much stronger than ever before.

In a scenario such as this, you can say that the good people of Imo state have made a choice. They have chosen between action and inaction. They have decided between programme of action and rabble-rousing demagoguery. Whereas Udenwa represents people -oriented programmes, his opponents are merely interested in running him down as if their mission in government is to demonise an Udenwa. Until new and focused players come into the scene in four years time, the people of Imo state do not have much to do under the present arrangement . Their job has been made a lot easier by those who have left them with only one candidate for the April 19 government ship elections. Chief Achike Udenwa is that sole candidate. The rest are mere dancers of fortune. They have to wait much longer to get their bearing right.

Nwosu writes from Owerri.