Andy Uba’s Towering Confidence

Vanessa Obioha writes that the All Progressives Congress candidate for the November 6 governorship election in AnambraState, Andy Uba, exudes a confident disposition that unsettles his rivals

If an average Igbo man is proud, then the average Anambra man is overconfident. The reason for his disposition is not far-fetched. Of all the South-eastern states, Anambra is believed to be home to many millionaires. In fact, many believe that the state has the largest number of millionaires per square kilometre in the country. If one should look at the lavish lifestyle of some of its sons like the popular hospitality mogul Obi Iyiegbu, better known as Obi Cubana, who made a mess of money during his mother’s burial a few months ago, or the jaw-dropping houses that line the streets of Nnewi, one is likely to conclude that the state mints millionaires every second, thus, the pomposity.

Therefore, when Andy Uba, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for the upcoming election in Anambra State thumped his chest that he knows what Anambra people want and is ready to serve them, one can sense that self-confidence peculiar to the South-eastern region. Of course, politicians are known to exhibit such certainty but Uba, who once occupied the Number One seat in the state, for a brief period of seven days, oozes so much confidence that his unruffled mien cannot hide his ego.

In a way, the influential politician has every bragging right. Who else in the state enjoyed the lofty status as the right-hand man of former President Olusegun Obasanjo like Uba? It is whispered that he pulled so much weight that his house became a Mecca of sorts to those who wanted to be in the good books of the former president during his tenure. In fact, at a recent meeting with journalists, Uba bragged that he personally recommended Professor Charles Soludo, the current governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the apex role of Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

According to him, Obasanjo wanted to replace the then governor of the bank Joseph Oladele Sanusi and had a list of names sent to him but Uba pleaded he should give Soludo a chance. Uba was so influential that Obasanjo turned down other names including those from his Vice President then, Atiku Abubakar. By revealing this, Uba, in a way, is subtly reminding Soludo that he made him who he is today. It is rumoured that when Soludo’s governorship ambition was whispered to Obasanjo, he was shocked to find out he was contending with the man who uplifted his status.

It is not the first time that Soludo is contesting for the governorship in the state. Mired in controversies, Soludo was picked to represent the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2010 elections. He, unfortunately, lost to Peter Obi who was the APGA candidate.

Again, his emergence as the candidate for APGA this year was not without controversies. Soludo emerged as the party’s flag bearer after a faction of the party that supports the incumbent governor Willie Obiano elected him at the party’s primary election held on June 23. He reportedly garnered 740 votes to defeat other aspirants. However, his candidacy was challenged, mainly by Hon. Chukwuma Umeoji, a member of the House of Representatives, who emerged governorship candidate of another faction of APGA, but the Supreme Court recently affirmed him as the right candidate of the party.

Like Soludo, Uba’s emergence has its share of political drama. Not a few believe that the primary that produced him as the party’s candidate was a sham. To this day, opinions still hold sway that no primary election was held.

As the two opponents head into the race, Uba sees no threat in Soludo. After all, he is just one in a thousand that the two-time Senator has helped. Uba’s philanthropic gestures extend beyond the state and this, he believes, is working in his favour. He tells whoever cares to listen that none of his contenders has helped the state as he has. This, he said, puts him at an advantage. According to him, he has a formidable structure in the state that is now working for him.

This becomes more evident as more politicians leave their parties to queue behind him. Perhaps, this is the source of his towering confidence. More than once at the meeting with the press, he boasted about his popularity in the state, claiming that APC will certainly take over the state from APGA on November 6 when the elections take place. He made a mockery of the governor losing his key members like his deputy governor Nkem Okeke who joined APC a few days ago. His defection spells doom for Obiano in the eyes of Uba. More people, he said, will join the party, including Obiano’s wife if he is not careful.

For Uba, it is important that he wins the state for his party.

Already, the President, Muhammadu Buhari has indicated an interest in seeing how he wins the election. If this mandate is giving Uba a restless night, one cannot easily decipher. What is certain however is that Uba is determined to occupy the position which he only enjoyed briefly in 2007. He already has bigger plans for the state that will whip it back in shape because according to him, the governor has done poorly. His vision captures an improvement in the education sector, building infrastructures to boost the economy of the state, improving security by engaging with different heads, as well as improving the health sector.

Beyond his lofty dreams, Uba strongly believes that having APC rule the state will quicken the pace of development. As far as he is concerned, nothing is more important than aligning with the party at the centre. Whether Uba will eat the humble pie or swagger into the office as the winner of the November 6 election is yet to be ascertained, but what remains visible, is that the two-term Senator is very confident of his victory in the election.

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