Abia PDP, slithering from excessive daydreaming to pitiable hallucination – Written by Eagle Okoro, an Umuahia-based public affairs analyst.
From the outset, not a few persons trusted that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia would so easily swallow the bitter pill of the colossal defeat it suffered in the hands of the Labour Party (LP) in the March 18 governorship poll.
For me, there was an inkling that the party would like to grandstand by initiating a legal action to challenge the victory of Gov. Alex Chioma Otti, ostensibly to continue to massage its ego and also give its largely disillusioned members the false impression that the party is still on life support and not completely dead.
But deep down inside me, I knew that it was going to be a mere daydreaming because the defeat was massive and unprecedented.
It was total and consummate for LP and its candidates across board in the state.
But it was far more accomplishing and gratifying for the more than 90 per cent of Abia indigenes and residents across party lines, who saw Otti’s emergence as prayer answered.
It is worth recalling at this point that Otti polled 175,467 votes to roundly defeat Chief Okey Ahiwe, PDP’s Candidate, who trailed far behind with 88,529 votes.
It was on account of this sweet victory that Abia residents, including many PDP chieftains and supporters, emptied into the streets of the major cities, towns and villages to celebrate their eventual freedom from the 24 years of political and economic bondage in the hands of PDP.
This, of course, explained the reason many rational Abia residents, who savoured the delectable election result of March 23, saw the PDP’s petition challenging Otti’s victory as not only idiotic and laughable but an affront on the electorate, who resoundingly gave their mandate to the man and political party they so trust to turn around their fortune and change the uninspiring Abia narrative.
No doubt, PDP enjoys absolute right to challenge the outcome of the poll but, in doing so, one expected that it would be guided by a deep sense of logic and reason.
Unfortunately, the party wantonly rejected all wise counsel, including that by the Governorship Candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, Prof. Gregory Ibe, to respect the sanctity of the outcome of the election, widely adjudged the most transparent and credible in the history of governorship elections in Abia.
Of course, the election was a clear demonstration of the huge disaffection and rejection of PDP, erstwhile Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu and Okey Ahaiwe by the largely enslaved and impoverished Abia citizenry.
Indeed, as the sitting governor, who was active in the field on the election day and, having put in so much resources, including his integrity, to upturn the outcome of the poll with his traditional Obingwa magic without success, he knew that there was the hand of God in the entire exercise.
And, imitating Pontius Pilate after he found no guilt in Jesus Christ, Ikpeazu cautiously washed his hands and advised against any act that could translate to challenging God’s verdict. But, like the wicked murderers they are, they rebuffed him and his well-thought out advice and have proceeded to the tribunal, apparently in their wishful thinking and excessive daydreaming misadventure.
It is however worth highlighting here that Ikpeazu’s advice that Ahiwe and PDP should not contemplate any legal action in order not to distract his “beloved successor” was not borne out of sheer patriotism.
Rather, it was informed by the obvious that such an attempt would amount to shadow chasing and an exercise in futility, beyond being a distraction to the new government.
It was also an attempt to avert a second and more humiliating defeat in the hands of the arguably today’s most popular political party and most vibrant and active governor in the country, the LP, and
Otti.
Ikpeazu had reasonably sensed that another defeat for Abia PDP would finally and permanently decimate it beyond redemption, now and in the future.
And, like the popular Igbo adage says, “What an elder sees sitting down, a child would not even while standing,” appears unassailable in the instant case with Abia PDP.
Obviously, what Ikpeazu saw sitting down as an elder, Ahiwe and his juvenile hirelings in PDP failed to see, even as they stood on a rooftop.
Like the legendary Dr Micheal Okpara said, “first fool no be fool, na second fool be foolish”. So, the second fool, which Ikpeazu advised against, is looming and appears potentially more disastrous and catastrophic for his party.
This is the ultimate end that Ahiwe and his PDP have irretrievably chosen to pursue in the tribunal.
But discerning Abia people hold the view that PDP was not actually in tribunal to retrieve Otti’s divine mandate but to cause distractions to an administration that has so far demonstrated an uncommon commitment to work the talk, being focused in its programmes and actions and walking firm-footed to deliver on the governor’s campaign promises.
Otti envisaged such distractive tendencies by PDP when, in his inaugural speech, he warned that “there are clear indications that there will be constant distractions from those who pray that Abia should go back to Egypt”.
For instance, PDP is not contesting that it was not roundly trounced in the election by LP and Otti. Rather, it is experimenting to see how it could smuggle itself back to power through the back door, relying on banal and untenable technicalities.
It is for this reason that observers of the legal fireworks at the tribunal found as wishy-washy, laughable and pedestrian, Friday’s online article, entitled, “Alex Otti nervous, as petitioners set to subpoena official witnesses; tender certified true copies of evidence in support of case!!”.
What substance is there in the petition for an Otti, the Abia political iroko, to fidget about?
For a reasonable lot, that piece by a faceless writer simply portrays how dangerous and devastating PDP’s hallucination and self-delusion had become over a blatantly ineffectual, watery and shallow petition.
It would, therefore, suffice to sound it out to PDP’s consciousness here that Otti’s mandate is super-divine and Providence has programmed it for an automatic eight-year tenure. Therefore, he remains focused, unperturbed and unshakeable.
It is apparent that the excessive daydreamers, who have proved themselves to be arch enemies of Abia for 24 long years, may have been incensed by a certain psycho-medical condition.
Hear what Mollie Volinsky, a New York (U.S.A) based clinical social worker on trauma-informed psychotherapy, has to say about daydreaming and mental illness.
She says, “Daydreaming is incredibly normal, but excessive daydreaming can be a symptom of a larger problem.
According to her, most mental illnesses involve problematic thought patterns that we struggle to control – and that can involve your imagination getting away from you.
Also, Lauren Cook, a San Diego-based therapist and author, says
“Daydreaming can be an indication that someone is suffering from concentration difficulty, which is seen in many mental illnesses, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.”
Therefore, for PDP to continue to daydream in such an excessive manner as to imagine returning to power in Abia is simply symptomatic of a psychotic disorder within its fold.
Of course, a party that forcefully held on to power for 24 years and criminally resisted the people’s immense desire for a change is certainly bound to suffer all those, having finally lost power and its appurtenances against its widest imagination.
Again, and more pungent, is the fact that Abia PDP remains the only chapter that suffered the worst humiliating defeat in the hands of a superior power during the 2023 governorship poll across the federation.
Herein lies the source of the painful frustration and pitiable depression-induced hallucination among the party’s obviously depleted membership in Abia.
So, the party’s persistent rantings via its hired social media handlers are understandable but deserve no pity.
The article was written by Eagle Okoro, an Umuahia-based public affairs analyst.