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The Araraume Mess
Comfort Obi, Editor-in-Chief
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May I emphasise that at no time
did Senator Ifeanyi Araraume
win the governorship primaries of the Imo State People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Yes, he made a strong showing at the primaries. But that showing did not spring him up as a clear winner. He did not score up to 30 per cent of the votes. And the law says you must score at least 50 per cent to clinch the ticket. A run-off was expected.
I don’t know what happened. But if there is neither drama, nor confusion, it wouldn’t be the PDP. So, instead of a run-off between him and Hope Uzodinma, who came a distant second, the PDP preferred to field Charles Ugwuh, an industrialist and former president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), who came 14th, with 36 votes. But even at that, most Imo people seemed happy with that development. They felt that between Ugwuh and Martin Agbaso, any of them who won would make a fantastic governor for the state. Nobody wanted to reckon with the fact that an injustice had been done to Araraume by not organising that run-off between him and Uzodinma. For, if the run-off had held, surely, Araraume would have beaten Uzodinma silly. Uzodinma comes from Orlu, a zone which produced the incumbent, Achike Udenwa. Most reasonable Imo people felt it was the height of greediness, let me not say insult, for any Orlu indigene to aspire to be the governor of the state immediately after Udenwa’s two-term tenure.
Yet, not a few people were uncomfortable with Araraume's aspiration. Nobody has been able to specifically say why, but Araraume’s reputation stinks to high heavens. He had been dubbed a killer, without anybody pin-pointing even one person he had killed. He had been dubbed an armed robber, without anybody pin-pointing one armed robbery attack which he sponsored. He had been dubbed a 419ner, without anybody telling us who he duped.
Let me confess that until I met Araraume, his wife, and a couple of his children, I believed all that and more. This magazine had carried a couple of such stories about him. When I found out that a political opponent was the one feeding a former correspondent of ours with those stories, I decided to investigate Araraume. I was surprised that the man was literate. I found out that he is married to a lawyer of many years standing. I found out that his children are all grown-ups and are attending, or attended, some of the best schools in the world. I asked him, pointedly, why he has such a bad reputation. He was as ignorant as I was as to why it is so. He admitted that he once bought a stolen car, without knowing it was stolen. That was in Benin, where he has a massive investment, and the best super market in town. He told me that was the first and only time he had been to a police station. He was let off the hook when his innocence was proved. I spoke to the wife too. I believed them. The Source stopped carrying such stories on him. Our stand was: bring evidence, and we’ll go to town with it. Nobody did.
But it happens. There are people whose appearances give the impression that their character stinks. Araraume seems, to me, one of those. I was like, and don’t laugh at this, his problem could be from the shape of his head, or his very broad face, both of which do not complement his style of dressing. But no matter, the point is, Araraume did not help himself by not going public with the story of his life. I once advised him to do that. He kept quiet, and let the impression stick that he is no good, character-wise. But again, the way he too carried on in the state did not help him. He fell out with Udenwa, a once bosom friend of his. But worse, like most big men and women in the state, he formed the uncivilised habit of moving with siren and scores of policemen and body-guards, thus making a public nuisance of himself. He thought he was in competition with Udenwa. It was a combination of all these that ruined Araraume.
Yet, the PDP cannot be excused for the way it treated him. What is his crime? Nothing, except that he dared challenge Ugwuh’s candidature in court, as against the so-called party rules. His story is sad.
When the PDP cancelled the run-off election, and chose Ugwuh, Araraume went to court. Both the court of Appeal and the Supreme Court upheld his candidature. And the INEC put his name up as the PDP Imo governorship candidate. But the PDP did the unexpected. It pulled the rug from under his feet: It expelled him from the party. And declared that the PDP would field no governorship candidate in Imo.
A political party which members cannot sue is not practicing democracy. It means that a few members can stay in their offices and do whatever they deem fit with anybody. The president and the party hinted at security reports, which they claim prove Araraume is not a clean person. This is an after-thought. It is nonsense. If there are any such security reports, the PDP should make it public. And there are some questions. If this man was this terrible, why did the PDP allow him to be a two-term senator? If he was that terrible, why is he holding a sensitive position in the senate? Araraume, “the criminal,” is the chairman of the Senate committee on Foreign and Local Debts! And let's not forget, this man aspired to be the Senate President. What the PDP did is a rubbish of the judiciary.
But honest, what has happened is good for Imo State and its people. PDP’s injustice, and confusion, has offered Imo State the best of the pack – APGA’s Martin Agbaso. He has always been the people's favourite candidate. They prayed and yearned for him. Owerri people cried and fasted for him, for they know he will make a fantastic governor. A self-made young man, courageous, focused, hardworking, with a good pedigree, entrenched in the best of family values, married to a calm and calculated woman, polished, and educated, Agbaso presents a freshness that is infectious. The Imo PDP decision to adopt him is in order. He deserves it. He will make Imo people proud again. And, I can confirm.
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