South-East Bureau Chief, Jude Ossai, probes the seeming virtual irrelevance of erstwhile political heavyweights in current politicking in the South-East geopolitical zone.POLITICS in the South-East geo-political zone is as vital as the politics of other major ethnic nationalities in Nigeria, as the country's politics revolves mainly around the tripod of the Igbo, Yoruba and the Hausa/Fulani. Issues concerning the major political actors who shape the political destinies of peoples in these zones are often pushed up to the front burner by the media practitioners.The godfather philosophy, which is as old as the decree of Justinian in 530, was popularised in the modern age by the 1972 American epic directed by Francis Ford and entitled 'The Godfather.'In the South-East geopolitical zone, questions are being asked about the whereabouts, politically, of godfathers such as Dr Alex Ekwueme, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Senator Arthur Nzeribe, Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo, Chief Chris Uba, Chief Jim Nwobodo, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani, Chief Emeka Ojukwu, Dr Orji-Uzor Kalu, and a host of others.Dr Alex Ekwueme Dr Ekwueme came into the political limelight in 1979 when he was elected Vice President with Alhaji Shehu Shagari as the president under the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN). Arguably, Dr Ekwueme remains one of the most successful Igbo politicians after the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe. The member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP is yet to translate his high national profile into political gains in his home state, Anambra, his critics have alleged.The Oko-born businessman cum politician is accused by many Igbos, particularly up-starters in politics, of being indifferent on political issues in his home state politics, allowing 'miscreants' to take over the major segments of the state's politics.Expectedly, as he is one of the founding fathers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), it was argued that Dr Ekwueme's state PDP chapter ought not to have lost the gubernatorial seat in two quick successions to the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA). Being an elder statesman, many had expected him to provide a fatherly role as it were, like the then Owelle of Onitsha (Zik of Africa), the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, did under the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) in the Second Republic. It is not an understatement that Anambra State PDP has the most pronounced internal rumpus, making the warring factions to lose gubernatorial elections in recent times.Dr Ekwueme shuttles between Oko, Enugu and Abuja, presiding over his large business empire scattered all over the country and beyond.Chief Emmanuel IwuanyanwuChief Iwuanyanwu came into the lime- light in the 80s when he took over the funding of the then Spartans Football Club of Owerri, Imo State, and renamed it after himself. The Iwuayanwu Football Club took the entire sporting nation by storm, winning laurels for the business mogul.The "Iheaji ejemba" of Igboland did not stop there, as he floated the Champion newspapers in 1988, further boosting his image.Little wonder then that in the Ibrahim Babangida diarchy era, the high chief tried his luck in the presidential race under the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC), but could not make it to the presidency. Eventually, the former military dictator was forced to step aside and hand over to a transition government of headed by Chief Earnest Shonekan.Between 1994 and now, a lot has happened in the political life of the businessman cum politician. Chief Iwuanyanwu, a member of the PDP BoT, is living in Owerri, currently mourning his wife, Lady Eudora, who passed on last September. The Ohaneze Ndigbo chieftain has been maintaining a low profile since his home state chapter of the PDP lost the gubernatorial seat to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). Larger segments Ndigbo have reservations on the leadership qualities of the Igbo chief, alleging that he tilts more towards the North on national issues. Be that as it may, Chief Iwuanyanwu is still a force to reckon with, as he is often consulted at the national level when issues concerning Ndigbo crop up.Chief Arthur NzeribeChief Arthur Nzeribe is one Igbo politician that has been painted larger than life in the Nigerian media and associated with the bad and good sides of life. The maverick politician is one of the Nigerians who served for the longest period in the Senate, having represented his zone for more than three times. Chief Nzeribe, the self acclaimed Leader of the Association for Better Nigeria (ABN), is best known for helping to scuttle the freest and fairest presidential election in the country, which produced the late MKO Abiola in June 1993 as the winner.As a senator, the Ogunta high chief was a thorn in the flesh of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, as he moved a motion at the Upper House that almost threw spanners in the wheel of the ex-president's administration. Controversially, however, he subsequently dropped the charges he leveled against then president.Chief Nzeribe is living in his country home, Ogunta, quietly. Apparently because of his antecedents, he is finding it difficult now to call the shots in Imo State politics, as his inability to return to the Senate a fifth time demystified him. The political profile of the senator became so feeble that he could not influence the election of some of the members of the state House of Assembly in the last general election.Chief Chris UbaUba, the acclaimed godfather of Anambra State politics, hails from Uga in Anambra State. He was not born with a silver spoon but had worked his way up the ladder.A one time domestic aide to Chief Arthur Eze, Uba believes that politics is pure business. This is why many people in Anambra State frown at his style of politics, alleging that he helped in drawing the clock of Anambra State backward, especially during the era of Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju where state resources were alleged to have gone into strange hands. Uba could be remembered for his role in the kidnapping of the ex-governor Chris Ngige who is now a senator.The perceived hatred for the PDP chieftain might have reflected in last December's Anambra State House of Assembly elections where all the candidates he allegedly sponsored could not scale through at the polls. Even the Anambra Central Senatorial victory of his elder brother, Andy, is subject to litigation, as it is being contested in the law court.Dr Okwezilieze Nwodo Dr Nwodo, who hails from Ukehe in Igbo-etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State, stormed the political scene through divine intervention, as he was just a Returning Officer to his elder brother, Dr Joe, in the 1992 gubernatorial election before he was drafted into the race following the disqualification of his brother and his rival, Reverend Hyde Onuaguluchi in the National Republican Convention (NRC) primaries by the then military leader, Ibrahim Babagida.Nwodo went ahead to clinch the NRC ticket to become the first governor of the old Enugu State, outwitting Chief Gbazuagu Nweke Gbazuagu of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). Dr Nwodo's regime was cut short by military interregnum, but he bounced back as the National Secretary of the PDP in President Obasanjo's administration.The Ukehe politician was later edged out as the PDP scribe, prompting him to move into the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) where he sought to represent the Enugu NorthSenatorial zone but lost to Chief Fidelis Okolo, who dramatically left the PDP to run under the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). After being defeated by Okolo, using the then state apparatus of Nnamani's Ebeano, Nwodo returned to the PDP fold.Dr Nwodo, who had gone under after being shut out of the political space by ex-governor Nnamani, returned to the scene when he was appointed as the chairman of the PDP by President Goodluck Jonathan. But the reign of Nwodo did not last, as he lost out in the power equation following his face-off with his home state governor, Sullivan Chime, over the control of the state's political structure. The ex-state chief executive subsequently threw in the towel when he could no longer stand the heat from the Presidency.Since the exit of Nwodo from the PDP chairmanship stable, not much has been heard of the politician in the state, as he stays more in Abuja where he occasionally joins the entourage of the president.Chief Jim Nwobodo Chief Nwobodo, the glamorous governor of the Second Republic, came to the political limelight when he assumed the chairmanship position of the Rangers international Football Club of Enugu in the 80s.In 1979, the Amechi-Akunanaw politician won the gubernatorial seat of old Anambra State under the NPP but later lost in his bid to return to the Lion Building, Government House, Enugu, in 1983 to the late Chief Christian Chukwuma Onoh of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).The ex-Minister of Sports and senator was the strongman of Enugu State politics until his erstwhile political godson, Dr Nnamani, forced him into self exile from the Coal City. However, that premature retirement in politics did not last, as he bounced back into political relevance when he was appointed the zonal chairman of the PDP reconciliation committee by the South-East PDP zonal chairman, Chief Olisa Metu.In the early days of the first stanza of Governor Chime's administration, Nwobodo was an active member of the Elders' Forum inaugurated by the governor to serve as an advisory body. But recent events show that the Nkanu high chief has again gone into political oblivion, as sources said that Chime no longer has confidence in most members of the forum, especially with his open feud with the Nwodos.Chief Nwobodo no longer has a grip on Enugu State politics, unlike in 1999 when he single-handedly picked Dr Nnamani as the governor of the state. In the last local government elections, he could not influence his choice candidates, allowing the new breed politicians such as Offor Chuwkwuegbo, a serving member of the House of Representatives, to outwit him. He stays more in Abuja, even as sources said he loves traveling aboard for private business concerns.Chief Orji 'Uzor Kalu Chief Kalu is a household name in Nigerian politics, particularly on Igbo issues. The ex-governor of Abia State was also a thorn in the flesh of former President Obasanjo as he openly criticised him for alleged insensitivity and pathological hatred for Ndigbo. Kalu championed the cause of Ndigbo, drawing the attention of the then government of Obasanjo to the deplorable condition of South-East roads as well as the political imbalance in the country.But Chief Kalu was the first governor to vote in favour of Obasanjo's re-election as president at the Eagle Square, Abuja in 2003. He is best known for his love for sports, as it was during his regime that Enyimba Football Club of Aba won the then elusive African Champions Cup.Chief Kalu was so strong that he was able to survive the onslaught of the Abuja politicians and the Obasanjo then led presidency, using his political party, the Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA) to return himself and his 'surrogates' to power in God's Own State.But the bond between him and his political godson, Theodore Orji, never lasted, as the incumbent governor claimed he could not withstand the alleged overbearing attitude of the Igberere, Bende-born politician.Kalu, who currently lives in Abuja, facing his chain of businesses, a source said, had not for sometime visited Umuahia, the capital of his home state, apparently because of his frosty relationship with his erstwhile political godson.Senator Chimaroke Nnamani Senator Nnamani stormed the political scene in grand style in 1999 when he was installed as governor of Enugu State by his kinsman, Chief Jim Nwobodo.Shortly after he assumed office, he began to flex muscles with his political godfather, Nwobodo. Although both politicians are still holding the cause of their rift to their chests, it was believed that sharing of political offices in the state might not be unconnected with the skirmishes between them at that period.Nnamani will best be remembered for by his talk-provoke- lecture-circuit, as he brought glamour to politics. The medical doctor-cum politician traversed the length and breadth of Nigeria, making memorable speeches throughout his eight year reign as governor. The senator fell out with his godson, Chime immediately the latter came to the saddle.Apparently to fight back to political relevance, Nnamani moved to the Peoples for Democratic Change (PDC). Although he could not realise his dream of returning to the senate for a second term, the PDP government of Chime will not forget the last general election in a hurry, as the ex-governor gave the regime a serious fight especially in Enugu-eastsenatorial elections. But for the cancellation of the first senatorial polls by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PDC would have created an upset in the state as the tide was almost going against the candidate of the ruling party.The PDP could win any elective office in the polls. Between May 29 when the present crop of political office holders assumed power and now, the Agbani politician has gone under and relocated to Abuja.The last time the former governor was in the news was when he was arraigned at the Enugu High Court for alleged abuse of office.Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Chief Ojukwu is a man of many parts. The Ikemba of Nnewi is still the soul of Biafra and his name evokes the spirit of bravery even as some people especially those outside the Igbo enclave branded him a rebel apparently because of his role in the Nigeria/Biafra civil war. The Nnewi high chief, although drafted into the APGA by the founding father of the party, Chief Chekwas Okorie, gave teeth to the party, often regarded as an Igbo party.Chief Ojukwu teamed up with Chief Peter Obi to take over the government of Anambra State on two consecutive occasions. At the moment, the ex-war lord is recuperating at his sick bed in a fLondonhospital.Recently, the family of the warrior dismissed rumours of his death, saying he was still hale and hearty. How the Ikemba would recover from his ailments to lead the APGA, whose fortune is dwindling, will be determined by time, as age is no longer on the side of the Igbo leader. But the wife of Ikemba, Lady Bianca, has assured Nigerians that her husband will soon bounce back
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