It is now very clear that the former gubernatorial candidate of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State in the 2012 election, Major
General Charles Airhiavbere (retd.), is desperate to ingratiate himself,
at all cost, with the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress
(APC). And, the reason for this ridiculous political gambit has to do
with his need to evade the current selective probe, by the powers-that-be
in Abuja, into shady deals of former and current public officials together
with their political collaborators.
Airhiavbere is, obviously, afraid of his unsavoury record in the various
strategic posts he held in the Nigeria Army, particularly, as Director of
Finance of the Nigeria Army. This was evident in the war-chest he deployed
into securing the gubernatorial ticket of the PDP at the party’s primary
in 2012. For a man, whose only known and legitimate source of income was
his salary and allowances as a military man, it was a big puzzle to all
that, without any known business success and substantial family
inheritance, he was able to outspend all his rivals for the PDP’s
gubernatorial candidacy.
Airhiavbere’s financial power, combined with the cloud under which he
retired from the military, made him an object of scathing interrogation
and ridicule for the opposition. He was never able to respond credibly to
questions about his history, wealth and integrity during the
gubernatorial campaign.
After he lost the election, Airhiavbere failed a critical test in party
discipline and loyalty when he challenged the victory of Governor Adams
Oshiomhole at the Tribunal in spite of the decision of the PDP not to do
so. Having turned himself into a political orphan by that singular act of
disobeying the party directive, Airhiavbere, in a desperate move to
reinvent himself and catch the attention of then President Goodluck
Jonathan, set up and led a support group for the President’s re-election
bid, in the calculation that he would be protected and compensated at the
centre. But as soon as soon as Muhammadu Buhari emerged as President, he
jumped ship and transferred his loyalty to APC, thus openly demonstrating
his desperation for political cover and relevance.
It is not surprising that Airhiavbere has chosen the path of publicly
attacking PDP leaders in Edo State. In apparent reaction to what was said
at the recent flag-off ceremony of the PDP gubernatorial campaign in
Benin, he specifically derided the trio of Chiefs Tony Anenih, Gabriel
Igbinedion and Tom Ikimi for allegedly toying with the emotions of Edo
people, declaring that they could not influence victory, in the September
10, 2016 gubernatorial election, for the PDP candidate, Pastor Osagie
Ize-Iyamu. This outburst was, of course, an attempt to find his footing
after his disastrous outing in the controversial gubernatorial primary of
the APC, in which, by scoring less than 10 votes, he was shown to be a
political lightweight and an unwanted opportunist.
Everywhere, whether in developed or developing countries, political
success is largely a product of trust and integrity. In the political
history of Nigeria, the critical roles of these two human virtues have
been amply demonstrated beyond doubt. Their absence was evident in what is
now referred to as “the Airhiavbere fiasco of 2012” as well as his total
rejection at the recent APC gubernatorial primary. Since the General’s
venture into politics, he has not been able to establish himself as a
trustworthy man; nor has he been able to lay any great stock on integrity.
Rather, he has helped to swell the ranks of those who believe that there
is no honour in politics or that politics is a game of anything goes.
What makes Airhiavbere’s political desperation even more regrettable is
the tendency to bite the fingers that fed him. Sadly, the General is
learning all this the hard way. He ought to have known that his betrayal
of those who brought him into political limelight and on whose shoulders
he rode to become the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP in 2012, would
come to hunt him as, indeed, it is now doing!
But, my worst fear for General Airhiavbere is that the shady past he
thought he could hide through a Machiavellian brand of politics is now
becoming an open secret to many Nigerians, especially Edo people. When he
had to retire from the military under questionable circumstances, he
should have taken the option of either living a quiet life in full
retirement or simply transforming into a farmer, as many of his colleagues
have done. Today, those options no longer exist as the General has, on his
own, openly and consistently called the attention of President Buhari’s
anti-graft agencies to what they, perhaps, would not have bothered about.
It is all in our national interest. Indeed, the full credit should go to
the people of Edo State who have been able to see through the General’s
gambit and ignoble political maneuvers.
That General Airhiavbere has appointed himself the mouthpiece of the APC
and Oshiomhole’s praise singer is consistent with the image of a man who
has lost self-confidence. His situation is as pitiable as it is
understandable. Not only was Airhiavbere thoroughly defeated at the polls
in 2012, he was, again, humiliated by the comrade Governor at the Election
Petitions Tribunal where he had gone in search of the people’s mandate in
disobedience to PDP’s orders. So, Airhiavbere has always been a desperate
politician, too desperate for his own interest.
Specifically, it is worth stressing that in 2012, Airhiavbere rode, fully
and shamelessly, on the back of some of the leaders he now has the
temerity to publicly deride. Despite being the leading Benin son in that
election, he could not even get the kind of groundswell of support that
Ize-Iyamu is now getting. He simply did not have the gravitas and still
does not have the charisma, organisational ability, grassroots
mobilisation capacity and the intellect for political inclusion to run a
successful political campaign. Compared to even Godwin Obaseki, the APC
standard bearer in the forthcoming gubernatorial election, Ize-Iyamu is a
far better candidate who is mightily imbued with the required qualities.
With God oh his side (after all, he is a pastor and servant of God)
coupled with the support of all PDP leaders in the state, especially
Chief Tony Anenih, he is sure to emerge as the custodian of the sacred
mandate of Edo people which is to be given on September 10, this year.
• Ojeifo, Editor-in-Chief of The Congresswatch magazine, sent this piece
from Abuja