Soludo versus Obi: Beyond public records, the rest is politics

By Ebuka Onyekwelu, Ph.D

Since last week, I have received several calls and messages from strangers, friends, family, and colleagues about what they tagged “political war” between Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, and former Governor, Mr. Peter Obi. They all reached out to know why things cannot be different. Their concerns with some exceptions can be summarized as follows: Why is Governor Soludo trying to pull Peter Obi down instead of focusing on Anambra State? Secondly, why is Soludo speaking against his brother? Does Soludo think Ndi Igbo will not pay him back by withdrawing their support if he wants to become President in the future? Finally, is there a way Soludo can stay out of Obi’s case? Those were their questions. The first thing one sees is that, by far, some people have deliberately put all the blame and responsibility for political alliance between NDC and APGA on Governor Soludo. There is no place or case where peacebuilding responsibility or alliance rests solely on an individual. Also, there is no face-off where one party takes all the blame. I therefore suspect that what some of these Mr. Obi’s supporters want is a state of absolute compliance with their political choices by others. Unfortunately, that cannot happen because it is not the nature of politics.

To answer the first question: how about why can’t Mr. Peter Obi focus on his presidential campaign and leave Anambra State alone? Yes! That’s exactly the point. Governor Soludo or the Anambra State Government merely responded to the open challenge thrown at the Government by Obi. What the Government did was speak to the facts in response to the challenge by Mr. Peter Obi. The Government has a duty to put the records straight, especially when it is publicly challenged to do so. That said, the conversation has since moved swiftly beyond facts to politics, which is often clothed in unregulated emotions. This leads me directly to the second question. To answer that, there is no “brother” in politics. This should be clear to everyone, but especially those in Mr. Peter Obi’s camp. For instance, Mr. Peter Obi and Chief Victor Umeh are brothers from the same Anaocha LGA in Anambra State. Their communities of Agulu and Aguluzigbo are neighbours and share historical affinities. Yet, Chief Umeh joined forces with former Governor Willie Obiano from far away Aguleri to wage an intense political war against his brother, Mr. Peter Obi, for almost 8 years. There is nothing that can be said against someone that Chief Umeh did not say against Mr. Obi. But today, both are back on the same political vehicle, from the Labour Party in 2023 to the NDC ahead of 2027. If Peter Obi and Victor Umeh can be found on the same political page after more than 8 years apart, take it or leave it, but Mr. Peter Obi can become Soludo’s Presidential Campaign Adviser in the future. This is the nature of politics. It is also a lesson for those who have taken it too personally and have gone out of their way, throwing words carelessly.

On the concern that Ndi Igbo will not support Soludo because he did not support Peter Obi, this is not supported by recent political events. Mr. Peter Obi did not become the candidate of choice for many Ndi Igbo overnight. In fact, when Obi took over as governor of Anambra in 2006, Dr. Chris Ngige’s assertive persona intimidated Obi, and for a long time, he struggled. People wanted him to be like Ngige, who was more outgoing, less formal, and practical. Most people did not give Obi any benefit of the doubt. They kept attacking him and eventually gave him the sobriquet of “Ada Obi,” insisting he was unfit to govern Anambra State. There were so many protests against Obi’s government. Dr. Ngige was the people’s man. He commanded a level of cult followership that was unseen before then, and many regarded him as an Igbo Leader. But by the time Obi returned for his second term in office in 2010, Dr. Ngige began to fade, as some of his key supporters and mobilizers moved on. Today, Ngige is almost completely history, while the same Peter Obi who was thought of as unfit is now seen by the same people as a champion of governance. What changed? Therefore, the only thing that would have diminished Professor Soludo was if he lost the November 2025 governorship election. Nothing else can diminish him, and nothing can stop popular Southeast support at any time in the future. By the time the passion of politics fades around mid next year, some people speaking against Soludo will come to terms with the fact that he has done well. This will reinforce support for Soludo. This, too, is the nature of politics. Wike left his brother Rotimi and is supporting President Tinubu. Kwankwaso left his brother Atiku and is Obi’s running mate. Makinde left his brother Tinubu to become his own presidential candidate.

To address the final concern, I will say that there is no way Governor Soludo will stay away from the 2027 Presidential Election as long as progressives are working together. To begin, such a request is a very ridiculous and, in fact, parochial demand. Every supporter of Peter Obi is playing politics, but others should be silent or support Obi. We all know what we are doing. Obi’s supporters are lashing out at others who are entitled to their own choice of preferred candidate, while retaining their own right to support their own candidate. It is all politics, and no one is more patriotic than another because of political choice. Such posturing by some of Obi’s supporters is simply political extremism packaged as public good. For starters, Governor Soludo is not someone who can be cajoled, intimidated, or blackmailed into silence. Nobody around Governor Soludo can be cajoled. Such a thing can never happen. The truth is that even Soludo has been far more generous to Peter Obi’s ambition since 2022. Soludo opened the Government House of Anambra State for Obi, and he declared, for the first time, his presidential ambition in the Government House. I don’t think any other person has given Peter Obi’s aspiration such recognition since 2022 to date. The bottom line is that anyone supporting Peter Obi but vilifying someone else for supporting their own candidate of choice is not only childish, but also shows a fundamental misunderstanding of politics. No, why must everybody leave Peter Obi alone? No one is above scrutiny, especially someone who has presented himself for public office.