It is now twelve years since Senator Chuba Okadigbo, the Oyi of Oyi, one of Nigerias most colourful politicians, died in his home in Abuja on September 25 2003. Ten days before that day, i spent more than two hours alone with him discussing generally about Nigerian politics, especially his relations with the then Presidend, Olusegun Obasanjo. He told me then that Obasanjo was going to try to retain power somehow even after completing the constitutionally allowed eight years. As a political scientist, he had studied Obasanjos weird power game and knew that he was going to find away of continuing to rule the country after 2007 and it manifested in former generals failed term bid. The relationship between the former President and late Senate President was at best topsy-turvy. From day one, Obasanjo ensured that Evan Enwerem torpedoed Chubas Senate Presidency ambition but he successfully ploted Enwerems downfall to claim the seat before the end of 1999, the first year of the arrival of democracy in Nigeria after close to 15 years of military dictatorship. When he took over from Enwerem, Chuba found it difficult to run the Senate because the President starved the legislative branch of funds to run parliament, but a combination of Chuba and House of Representative Speaker Umar Ghali Nabba ensured that the President Obasanjo could not sleep with two eyes closed during his first term in office. Obasanjo ensured that the 2003 elections shut out all those who opposed him and made sure he could not sleep during the first term and this resulted in hundreds of House and Senate members not getting the PDP ticket to return their chambers. Nabba lost his seat as well as many of his House leadership. As for Okadigbo, he knew where he stood with the President, and promptly joined the all Nigerian Peoples Party,ANPP which offered him the Vice Presidency as part of Buhari ticket. As an advanced Political Strategist, Chuba had also worked to register the APGA political party using Chekwas Okorie as the front. This is a fact that many of those who now masquerade as APGA Chieftains including Chairman Victor Umeh and the Former Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi do not know. Chuba told me that it was important the igbo had a fallback position at the end of the day and explained that it was necessary to form a party like APGA, under which his people can find a home if things fell aparts with the mainstream PDP, Particularly with politicians of igbo stock to settle even though he used the Uba Brothers to pretend otherwise. During my last meeting with the former Senate President, i adviced Chuba to forget about going to Kano for the ANPP rally where his princinpal, Muhammadu Buhari was going to address a massive crowd of his supporters after failing to win the 2003 Presidential elections. As running mate to the former general, Chuba was adamant because he felt that if he did not go to the Kano rally, he would sent a wrong signal that many of their supporters and party leaders would not understand. I argued that he was not fully fit to travel and he could also call Buhari and explain things, but he was not going to budge. It was days later that i learnt that he insisted and went to kano and took a barrage of tear gas canisters directed to his section of the crowded stadium during the rally, which did not go down well with his asmathic condition. He died a few days after attending the Kano rally. On that 25th day of september 2003, Nigeria lost a political gem. His rise to political stardom was meteoric as he belonged to the innermost circles of the party. He won a senate seat during the Babangida era When he wrote one of his best books Transition to Transition which chronicled the endless transition of the maradonic presidency of Ibrahim Babangida, the one and only military President of Nigeria. Since then he was returned in two other elections as a senator representing onitsha north senatorial district, which has now fallen to his lovely wife, Margery Okadigbo, leaving political analysts wondering about the begining of an Okadigbo Political dynasty in the senatorial district. I do not think in any way that Dr Okadigbo would be surprised that his wife margery made it to the hallow chambers of the Nigerian Senate, Eight or nine years after his death, because Chuba had prepared her to face the some times harsh political terrain in which he operated during his lifetime. He also knew that she could achieve anything she put her mind to. I enjoyed a ring side seat in the political life of the family and knew that whatever Chuba or his wife wanted to attain politically, they would so achieve easily. He was a great motivator and knows how to get the best out of people around him. I maintained a close relationship with Chuba during his lifetime from the time he was political adviser to President Shehu Shagari...
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 10:43:42 +0000
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