Professor Soludo was quick enough to make allusion to Labour Party’s poor showing in Ekiti and Osun governorship election in 2022. But he failed to juxtapose his erudite arguments with the facts that Olusegun Mimiko now in Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) left the same party when he could not get their governorship ticket in Ondo State and switched over to the Labour Party upon which he won the governorship election in 2012 without any structure
Emmanuel Ukudolo l Tuesday, November 15, 2022
LAGOS, Nigeria – Only if Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo were God, his wishes and definite professorial statement, “Peter Obi cannot and won’t win” would have come to pass just like the wishes of the ‘all wise’ genie, we read about in fairy tales and watch in children’s tales by moonlight.
But as it is, he is neither God nor a prophet. It is either that the professor has not read the scriptures or he seems to have forgotten that “power belongs to God”. Rev. 19.1.
Even prophet Samuel of Israel faltered when God asked him to anoint a king for Israel from the house of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, “because I have selected from his sons a king for myself”. 1 Samuel 16: 1, New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.
Now Jesse had seven sons. But as soon as Samuel saw Eliab, he said ”Surely, here before Jehovah stands his anointed one”. But this is what God told him: “Do not pay attention to his appearance and how tall he is, for I have rejected him. For the way man sees is not the way God sees, because mere man sees what appears to the eyes but Jehovah sees into the heart” verse 7.
Jesse presented all his sons but one, the last born, but they were all rejected by Jehovah. This is what god told Samuel, when the last born who was in the field attending to his father’s flocks was presented.
“Get up, anoint him, for this is the one”. 1 Samuel 16: 12, New World Translation.
Having read through Soludo’s analogy, it is clear that Soludo is ignorant of the power of the masses and that indeed the masses have always been behind social revolutions that have enthroned governments, the recent example of William Ruto of Kenya is quite instructive.
Besides, his permutations were anchored on the prism that have been punctured by the recent 2022 Amended Electoral Act, upon which Soludo would not have been governor today.
By the old beliefs anchored on who is in power and party structure, Mr. Andy Uba, who is governorship candidate of the ruling All Progressive Congress(APC), should have won the election based on might as he made many to believe.
Andy Uba scored 230,000 votes during the APC primaries, he even won in wards where elections did not hold by snatching ballot boxes. But the reality dawned on him when he was only able to garner 43, 285 votes during the governorship election.
The question is where is Uba’s remaining 186, 715 votes. They were all lost in the realms of permutations. It is the same permutations which had held reign over the years that Soludo has anchored his now infamous statement, “Obi cannot win, won’t” win.
The reality is that many would suffer heart attack and be sent to their untimely grave by February 2023 when the results of the election will be announced, when they realise that their permutations have failed, thanks to President Muhammadu Buhari who signed the new Electoral Act into law.
Soludo in his article did not accuse Obi of corruption, he only said his foray into politics through Labour Party will not favour Igbo cause. As to poverty in Anambra, the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, will soon release economic indices that would tingle the ears of Soludo, who has embarked on over taxation of the people who elected him into power.
But for now, erudite professor, please find time to read Rev. 19:1. “Power belongs to God”, and I add Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s famous saying, “He gives it to whom he chooses”.
Ofcourse, the likes of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC and the likes of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) are the beautiful brides, for most of the most corrupt politicians, including Soludo, irrespective of their questionable characters, but God, the examiner of hearts and motives remains the final judge.
But one thing stands out that never in the history of Nigeria has one man amassed so much organic followership with such a national spread. The masses love him, the print materials for him and will do all they can to ensure Peter Obi emerges, with God on their side.
Besides, Professor Soludo was quick enough to make allusion to Labour Party’s poor showing in Ekiti and Osun governorship election in 2022.
But he failed to juxtapose his erudite arguments with the facts that Olusegun Mimiko now in Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) left the same party when he could not get their governorship ticket in Ondo State and switched over to the Labour Party upon which he won the governorship election in 2012 without any structure. It was the same time that the former labour leader, Comrades Adams Oshiomhole could not summon the courage to vie for governorship through Labour Party and the labour(NLC) he has led for so many years only because he feels, labour party has no structure and did not believe that LP can win any election, except structure set up by corrupt politicians who have lead Nigeria to comatose .
So, while many Igbo leaders are clapping for Soludo, (and indeed many others) who have ruled out the chances of Peter Obi, forgetting that they are not God, the question remains, what will he and the few little minds do if Peter Obi wins?
Will the professor, who could not win governorship election under PDP, when PDP was in power on the basis of his intimidating certificates plus the fact that he was former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, shove aside his pride and apologize for misleading the Igbos and many youths who would erroneously listen to his diatribe. Only time will tell.
