(Opinion) Anambra 2021: The Nwankpo (ADC) elements startling other candidates, by Harris Chuma

Anambra and her people have a date with history on November 6. By all standards, the election is poised to defy all odds, because there are so many issues at stake. The situation of the Nigerian state, riddled with crippling economic indices as well as the heightening insecurity which, surprisingly has started plaguing the South East zone, are great factors to consider.  On the other hand, the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, whose members are squaring up with the Federal Governed, to make sure the election is truncated is another issue of utmost concern. Although an appreciable air of uncertainty hangs in the air, concerning the election on November 6, many Anambra people are willing to come to the polls to enthrone a breath of fresh air as regards reins of power in the state.

Going by the interactions with the common people, it is easy to understand what the voting pattern will look like.

The ruling class has taken the people for a ride for too long and they intend to prove to that class with this election that power actually belongs to them. After decades of promises at both the state and federal levels, the people of Anambra seem determined more than ever to take their pound of flesh from the so-called big parties, who are the architects of the economic woes plaguing them. Not minding that they have been moving from town to town, hosting political jamborees, the people see such age-long methods as covert deceit, decorated with empty promises, and this has prompted majority of the citizens to be seeking credible options that could assuage their misery.

It is common to feel the pulse of the people from the streets of Anambra. Today, it is common to hear that the north has planted some candidates in some parties with a view to having a grip on the people of Anambra and her resources in fulfillment of the Islamisation project being financed by the Arab League. It is also common on the streets to hear of inexperienced puppets of a former governor, who would not be able to take his own decisions without getting approvals from his godfathers. In another development, Anambra people are also talking about some candidates who are heavily indebted to banks and are seeking the mandate to become governor in order to raise funds to offset their debts.

The streets of Anambra will also tell you about a certain candidate that is so impressed by his educational attainment that he thinks he is the only wise man in the state, in spite of not being able to attract enough empowerment for his people when he was almost at the helms of affairs in the country’s fiscal directorate.
The people on the streets know them all and are willing to battle them to a standstill during the polls.

But the emergence of Akachukwu Nwankpo is breaking barriers. His aspiration according to the common people of Anambra is fast forming a bridge between the upper class and the commoners in the society. While his party, African Democratic Congress is seen a breath of fresh air populated by young Nigerian professionals at home and abroad, the party in Anambra State has innovated a politics of inclusion with the ‘Umunna Revolution’, which it unveiled at Awka recently.

Understanding the Igbo concept of Umunna and the sort of enormous power it wields, will give an insight into what this method is capable of doing at the polls. Umunna reverberates as the building block of any clan and inspires togetherness and common destiny. This is what the ADC is bringing to the table of governance after it had painstakingly galvanised about 1.6 million eligible voters on this platform with the common belief in rescuing Anambra from the claws of hawks, who have a tainted history of usurping powers by hook, crook and also abductions.

While explaining the Umunna Revolution, the Nwankpo Campaign Office illustrated it thus: “Democracy is still the way forward but governance must match democratic ethics to make it worthwhile for the people. I have a strong conviction that every society must evolve a system that works for it and adapt it for the wellbeing and harmony of her people. In Nigeria today, it appears the beauty of democracy starts and ends at the Government Houses. Umunna Revolution therefore, not only aims at bringing governance down to the grassroots but down to every family, so that the geese and the ganders can be equally treated.”

When one brings all these factors into play, it becomes obvious that the only remaining candidate, untainted and formidable is Akachukwu Nwankpo. And this will come to play on November 6, all things being equal.