Petrus Obi, Enugu
It was another mass movement as the leader of Ebeano political group and arguably Enugu’s political godfather, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, returned to the Enugu Government House, 12 years after he left as governor.
Chimaroke, who ruled Enugu between 1999 and 2007, miscalculated when he chose Sullivan Chime, as his successor.
In his eight years as governor, Chime tried every strategy to silence his master, disowning the Ebeano group that brought him to power.
For you to be recognised in that government, you must openly criticise and castigate the then immediate past governor.
The high point of Chime’s efforts to rubbish Chimaroke, the man who single handedly brought him to power, was in the wake of the 2011 elections when he used security agencies to force him to Agbani, his country home.
The former governor, who was then a senator, had planned a loud reception by his supporters. This was not to be as security agencies stopped him at Obollo Afor and quietly escorted him to his village.
His supporters, who were waiting for his arrival, were also dispersed.
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He was subsequently forced to abandon the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to form a new party, People for Democratic Change, PDC.
This was a major test of his popularity in the state and he was reportedly cruising to victory in the Enugu East senatorial race, but for the rescheduling of the election.
By the time the election eventually took place, the former governor, who had spent so much in the aborted poll, ran out of cash and Chime’s candidate eventually won.
He, however, returned with his PDC in 2011 and introduced the house to house campaign to meet the electorate at their doorsteps.
It was an election he was widely believed to have won but was allegedly rigged out.
The announcement of Gil Nnaji as the winner of that election sparked off mass protest, which grounded Enugu for three days.
With the approach of the 2019 elections, speculations were rife that the Ebeano political godfather would join the All Progressives Congress, APC, but in what has been described by pundits as political master stroke, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, one of the leaders made by Chimaroke, perfected his return to the PDP.
This has been widely described as a coup that would guarantee victory for the PDP in the coming elections in the state.
Before his return to Enugu, having been in London for some years on health grounds, his political opponents went to town, boasting that he was incapacitated and cannot take part in the election.
Thus, on his return, he stormed the state capital and other parts of his constituency in what appeared to be a mass movement that held parts of the state to a standstill.
Residents of Enugu metropolis trooped out enmasse, singing his praises as he trekked alongside an unprecedented crowd that gathered at the Okpara Square through major parts of the capital city, all the way to the Government House, whose gates were for the first time thrown open to all.
As the loud speakers vibrated with his very popular campaign songs, both Chimaroke and Governor Ugwuanyi danced before the crowd in front of the Lion Building. It was a homecoming in style and the story will be told repeatedly over the next few years.
Speaking to the mammoth crowd, Chimaroke said: “I am very grateful. I am thanking all of you and the governor, who made this possible. I am very surprised with the level of reception I am getting. The reason I said I was surprised is that this is the 12th year since I last stepped into this Government House.
“Who can explain; who can decipher? Nobody can explain this. If it were to be written, nobody could write it. If we were to draw it, nobody can draw it. It is only God who could explain this.
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“I must also thank the governor. Our governor is a man of grace, a man of honour, a man of uncommon valour, a man of uncommon humility and a man of God. He has planted a seed in my life for giving me a second chance. He has reinvigorated me. He is a man of inestimable greatness. He is a man that is gifted. His name is Ifeanyi and nothing is impossible with God.
“I am telling you people that I never expected what you have done for me. When I look around, I begin to wonder if I really deserve this honour. I am saying to the governor, let that benevolence, which God has given me through you, let that benevolence be shown also to you in Jesus name.”
Governor Ugwuanyi, who could not hide his appreciation said: “What the people of Enugu East said they came to do was to come and thank me. But if I should place things the way it should be, I don’t know who should thank the other. The only thing I do is to give all due thanks to God.
“I say that in all we do, let it be likened to a spring that never fails. We shall grow from strength to strength. I don’t want to talk about His Excellency, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani today.
“In 2015, you people gave me massive support and elected me as governor. In 2019, I know that I will also receive the same level of support from you. I thank everyone here and I say that it is well with all of us in Jesus name.”