It is now very clear that the former gubernatorial candidate of the
\nPeoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State in the 2012 election, Major
\nGeneral Charles Airhiavbere (retd.), is desperate to ingratiate himself,
\nat all cost, with the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress
\n(APC).\u00a0 And, the reason for this ridiculous political gambit has to do
\nwith his need to evade the current selective probe, by the powers-that-be
\nin Abuja, into shady deals of former and current public officials together
\nwith their political collaborators.<\/p>\n
Airhiavbere is, obviously, afraid of his unsavoury record in the various
\nstrategic posts he held in the Nigeria Army, particularly, as Director of
\nFinance of the Nigeria Army. This was evident in the war-chest he deployed
\ninto securing the gubernatorial ticket of the PDP at the party\u2019s primary
\nin 2012.\u00a0 For a man, whose only known and legitimate source of income was
\nhis salary and allowances as a military man, it was a big puzzle to all
\nthat, without any known business success and substantial family
\ninheritance, he was able to outspend all his rivals for the PDP’s
\ngubernatorial candidacy.<\/p>\n
Airhiavbere\u2019s financial power, combined with the cloud under which he
\nretired from the military, made him an object of scathing interrogation
\nand ridicule for the opposition. He was never able to respond credibly to
\nquestions\u00a0 about his history, wealth and integrity during the
\ngubernatorial campaign.<\/p>\n
After he lost the election, Airhiavbere failed a critical test in party
\ndiscipline and loyalty when he challenged the victory of Governor Adams
\nOshiomhole at the Tribunal in spite of the decision of the PDP not to do
\nso.\u00a0 Having turned himself into a political orphan by that singular act of
\ndisobeying the party directive, Airhiavbere, in a desperate move to
\nreinvent himself and catch the attention of then President Goodluck
\nJonathan, set up and led a support group for the President\u2019s re-election
\nbid, in the calculation that he would be protected and compensated at the
\ncentre. But as soon as soon as Muhammadu Buhari emerged as President, he
\njumped ship and transferred his loyalty to APC, thus openly demonstrating
\nhis desperation for political cover and relevance.<\/p>\n
It is not surprising that Airhiavbere has chosen the path of publicly
\nattacking PDP leaders in Edo State.\u00a0 In apparent reaction to what was said
\nat the recent flag-off ceremony of the PDP gubernatorial campaign in
\nBenin, he specifically derided the trio of Chiefs Tony Anenih, Gabriel
\nIgbinedion and Tom Ikimi for allegedly toying with the emotions of Edo
\npeople, declaring that they could not influence victory, in\u00a0 the September
\n10, 2016 gubernatorial\u00a0 election, for the PDP candidate, Pastor Osagie
\nIze-Iyamu. This outburst was, of course, an attempt to find his footing
\nafter his disastrous outing in the controversial gubernatorial primary of
\nthe APC, in which, by scoring less than 10 votes, he was shown to be a
\npolitical lightweight and an unwanted opportunist.<\/p>\n
Everywhere, whether in developed or developing countries, political
\nsuccess is largely a product of trust and integrity. In the political
\nhistory of Nigeria, the critical roles of these two human virtues have
\nbeen amply demonstrated beyond doubt. Their absence was evident in what is
\nnow referred to as \u201cthe Airhiavbere fiasco of 2012\u201d as well as his total
\nrejection at the recent APC gubernatorial primary.\u00a0 Since the General\u2019s
\nventure into politics, he has not been able to establish himself as a
\ntrustworthy man; nor has he been able to lay any great stock on integrity.
\nRather, he has helped to swell the ranks of those who believe\u00a0 that there
\nis no honour in politics or that politics is a game of anything goes.<\/p>\n
What makes Airhiavbere\u2019s political desperation even more regrettable is
\nthe tendency to bite the fingers that fed him.\u00a0 Sadly, the General is
\nlearning all this the hard way. He ought to have known that his betrayal
\nof those who brought him into political limelight and on whose shoulders
\nhe rode to become the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP in 2012, would
\ncome to hunt him as, indeed, it is now doing!<\/p>\n
But, my worst fear for General Airhiavbere is that the shady past he
\nthought he could hide through a Machiavellian brand of politics is now
\nbecoming an open secret to many Nigerians, especially Edo people.\u00a0 When he
\nhad to retire from the military under questionable circumstances, he
\nshould have taken the option of either living a quiet life in full
\nretirement or simply transforming into a farmer, as many of his colleagues
\nhave done. Today, those options no longer exist as the General has, on his
\nown, openly and consistently called the attention of President Buhari\u2019s
\nanti-graft agencies to what they, perhaps, would not have bothered about.
\nIt is all in our national interest. Indeed, the full credit should go to
\nthe people of Edo State who have been able to see through the General\u2019s
\ngambit and ignoble political maneuvers.<\/p>\n
That General Airhiavbere has appointed himself the mouthpiece of the APC
\nand Oshiomhole\u2019s praise singer is consistent with the image of a man who
\nhas lost self-confidence. His situation is as pitiable as it is
\nunderstandable. Not only was Airhiavbere thoroughly defeated at the polls
\nin 2012, he was, again, humiliated by the comrade Governor at the Election
\nPetitions Tribunal where he had gone in search of the people\u2019s mandate in
\ndisobedience to PDP\u2019s orders. So, Airhiavbere has always been a desperate
\npolitician, too desperate for his own interest.<\/p>\n
Specifically, it is worth stressing that in 2012, Airhiavbere rode, fully \u2022 Ojeifo, Editor-in-Chief of The Congresswatch magazine, sent this piece 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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nand shamelessly, on the back of some of the leaders he now has the
\ntemerity to publicly deride. Despite being the leading Benin son in that
\nelection, he could not even get the kind of groundswell of support that
\nIze-Iyamu is now getting. He simply did not have the gravitas and still
\ndoes not have the charisma, organisational ability, grassroots
\nmobilisation capacity and\u00a0 the intellect for political inclusion to run a
\nsuccessful political campaign. Compared to even Godwin Obaseki, the APC
\nstandard bearer in the forthcoming gubernatorial election, Ize-Iyamu is a
\nfar better candidate who is mightily imbued with the required qualities.
\nWith God oh his side (after all, he is a pastor and servant of God)
\ncoupled with the support of all\u00a0 PDP leaders in the state, especially
\nChief Tony Anenih, he is sure to emerge as the custodian of the sacred
\nmandate of Edo people which is to be given on September 10<\/span><\/span>, this year.<\/p>\n
\nfrom Abuja<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"