By Larry Oyims
There was this story that circulated among the Christian congregation in the Redeemed Christian Church of God some years back .
At the peak of the struggle for succession in the church’s leadership hierarchy few years ago when the General Overseer was rumored to be retiring, journalists came to Enoch Adeboye, a revered and renowned preacher and consummate administrator and asked him who among his congregation would succeed him.
It was like the request of the sons of Zebedee to Jesus: “Master”, they said, “we would that you should do for us whatever we shall desire, grant that we may sit, one on thy right hand ,and one on thy left hand, in thy kingdom”.
It was a difficult question with an impossibly definitive answer. But Adeboye was not caught off guard. He untangled the maze and was reported to have answered and said that the person who would succeed him had not even repented. He went further to say, with every tincture of hyperbolism, that the next General Overseer of the church was still enjoying himself with women at the beer parlour!
Whether or not this anecdote is true or false, or intended to skirt the issue and ward off these children of Zebedee in every church and power hierarchy, is irrelevant. But it is seminal to the discussion at hand.
In a Channels Television interview last year, President Muhammadu Buhari was asked who his successor would be as the sun sets on his administration. He was tactical and never left anything to chance. In a laconic and pithy response, he answered and said it was a card he was holding closely to his chest lest anyone harm the person. For a man noted for being short on words, the point was delivered.
But when we dissect that statement with a clean pair of glasses, it is easy to reach the inescapable conclusion that the dhow is sailing with the wind out of Asiwaju’s shore—the man whose dream of being president is as constant as the Northern star—and berthing elsewhere in a safer harbor.
That harbor, perhaps may be Uburu even when it’s Esu river cannot contain a boat. This is why many are asking whether Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, former governor of old Abia state and a key figure in the Buhari government, is the president in waiting. Or Engr David Nweze Umahi whose rapport with the president, like wine, is getting better and better everyday.
Although Onu is not the only presidential aspirant of APC hue from that enclave, it is important to note that the events of the past few days are pointing to the possibility of a king coming out of the remote village of Nazareth.
APC few weeks ago chose its national chairman through a weird political arrangement not known to democracy which they call consensus, and everything regarding the presidential ticket is pointing to the same direction. The emergence of Abdullahi Adamu, a senator and former governor of Nasarawa state from nowhere at the dying minutes of that exercise to clinch the post jolted the permutations of Tinubu’s camp who had thrown their weight behind George Akume and Al-Makura. Since then, this has remained a matter of grave concern to Tinubu for many reasons.
Abdullahi Adamu is seen as a former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s man Friday, a relationship that earned him the membership of PDP’s Board of Trustees at the heydays of Obasanjo. Although Obasanjo has not said it openly, it stands to reason that he will not, and does not, support the ambition of Tinubu since there can only be one moon at a time.
Onu, who was the arrowhead of All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, one of the three legacy parties that fused to become All Progressives Congress, was largely instrumental to the emergence of Abdullahi Adamu as the consensus chairman of APC, tactically foreclosing whatever ambition Tinubu has. That’s not all. Ogbonnaya Onu is widely accepted as a bridge between the north and South within the APC fold and has earned the trust and respect of President Buhari. The president last month had cause to warn the newly constituted members of the party’s National Executive Council to be careful not to give tickets to highest bidders, a statement that was interpreted within the party circle as a veiled reference to Tinubu
The president may likely hold a special meeting with APC governors and party executives this week at Aso Rock. Top on the agenda is to sell his candidate to the party. Like one prematurely born, Onu declared his presidential ambition some few days ago when the sale of APC forms was almost closed., an action that left many guessing. I must say this now, Ogbonnaya Onu is a fine gentleman. Innocent as a dove, he is a peace monger and looks like he can hardly hot a fly. He is a visionary and consensus builder too. For instance, in 1999 when he was the flag bearer of All Peoples Party APP, he honorably stepped down for Olu Falae following an agreement. Within the APC party circle, he is seen as Buhari’s trusted ally and the dark horse that may spring surprises at the primaries.
But what, in the event of his emergence, and victory at the general election, can Onu’s presidency bring home to the Igbos and to the tables of the entire Southern Nigeria? Although his tenure was short lived, as governor of Old Abia state, Onu spent most of his tenure courting friendships across the Niger. His romance with the northern establishment robbed him the opportunity to flesh out the Abia Dream. If given the opportunity to relocate to Aso Rock this time, will he not repeat this scenario? Will he have the courage to take important and far reaching decisions to stabilize and weld our nation together without looking across to Katsina for direction? Issues like restructuring, State Police, regional autonomy easily tops the agenda. Will he have the courage to do the needful without dancing to the drumbeats from the North?
The North is shopping for a malleable candidate that will not rock the boat, and they see Onu as a willing horse. Recently, the APC national Chairman Senator Ahmed gave the nation an inkling into the thought processes of the Fulani Kingmakers. He told the people that even if power was to shift to the south, they know whom to give it to. Even if that may not be a direct reference to Onu, the fact is that they will not give power to anyone that doesn’t fit this bill.
Our country today needs someone that is charismatic enough to salvage the nation from the current economic mess and patriotic enough to address our hydra-headed problems. Onu may be demanding, like one of the sons of Zebedee, for a space in the kingdom at Aso Rock, but will he have the courage to upset the applecart? Can he, like Prometheus, bring down fire and recreate Nigeria? Onu may be a capable and charismatic leader, but his romance with the northern establishment will work against the interests of the South.
And this gives me goose pimples!
