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 manoeuvres.
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
