Straining against the leash of slavery and segregationist
America, Fredrick Douglas, foremost African American abolitionist once
thundered at his fellow blacks this way – “It is not light that we need, but
fire; it is not the gentle wind, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind,
and the earthquake.” A fiery speaker, Douglas stood out in his day as a
charismatic speaker with a blade for a tongue. Nothing in recent political
memory invokes the fullness of Fredrick Douglas ’plangent plea as the personality
of Chief Victor Umeh, the National Chairman of APGA.
Since emerging on the political landscape like a force of
nature, Victor Umeh has established himself as the true owner of the political
game, East of the Niger. This Agulu Uzigbo born lawyer reminds me of what the
Father of African Literature, Chinua Achebe, said of the engaging novelist,
Chimamanda Adichie on the blurb of her monumental novel, Half of a Yellow
Sun. Impressed with the immense narrative skills that the young writer had
shown in the novel, great Achebe had described her as being imbued with the
gift of ancient storytellers and further enthused that “Adichie came almost
fully made.” Similarly, in the political theater of South Eastern Nigeria,
Chief Victor Umeh came almost fully made.
It is purely because of these qualities that Chief Umeh’s
recent ambition to represent Anambra Central Senatorial Zone at the National
Assembly should hold a measure of interest to every Igbo man and every Nigerian,
as it were. Many observers have always felt that Umeh’s political philosophy
and remarkable approach to leadership are far too big for his native Anambra
where he seems to have sunk most of his political roots. The general belief is
that he was built for a higher calling; that Umeh should leave the still waters
of a little pond and splash around in the roaring waves of the Atlantic where
he rightly belongs.
From pre-history to date, great political personages usually
have myths woven around them. These myths are often what their name suggests –
myths. There might be no substance to them. They simply exist to complete the
halo that snakes over these heroes like a rainbow. No politician of note in the
South East has as many myths woven around them as Chief Victor Umeh. The
stories are sometimes infuriating and at other times, downright ludicrous.
Chief Umeh is blamed for virtually every ill that plagues any notable
politician in Igboland. His political enemies seem to have out-maneuvered him
in the use of the social media. They mobilized a large army of idle youths to
go on the offensive against Chief Umeh and the boys seem to have done a great
job of it, foisting the image of a monster on this natural-born warrior. In
recent times, he has been at the receiving end of cruel attacks on certain
facebook groups and a handful of discredited blogs. But Chief Umeh has remained
unmoved by the baying dogs at the periphery. It is not certain why he chose
this position, but people who are versed in gamesmanship say that Umeh’s
silence is deliberate and that he has simply assumed the posture of the
crouching leopard – a position of strength that precedes a lightening quick
strike at his prey.
However, there is also a new thinking that seems to put a lie
to all the conspiracies woven around Chief Umeh. The pertinent question that
some people are beginning to ask is how possible is it for one man (Chief Umeh)
to fleece Ifeanyi Ubah, Rochas Okorocha, Uche Ekwunife, Reagan Ufomba, Sullivan
Chime, Emeka Offor and even Peter Obi? Even if Umeh retains the services of the
most potent medicine man in West Africa, his magic would have failed him before
he turned the pockets of Peter Obi inside out. Obi is famous for being
tight-fisted. Umeh would have to hire a very strong Dibia to defrost Obi’s
famed frozen hands, they say.
Then again, the flipside of this argument also weighs heavily
in favour of Umeh. If it is true that he actually made an ass of all these
great men and women on his alleged hit list, then he is indeed the man. It
would take nothing less than an extra-ordinary ability to get the better of
just about everybody. To my mind; that is very unlikely. But in the unlikely
event that Chief Umeh actually succeeded in outwitting all his alleged victims,
it strengthens his case for a place in the center. In a country where only the
strong survives, Ndigbo need a strong man, a man that is fully gifted with
brain and brawn, to represent them in national politics. Under the
circumstances, Umeh sincerely seems the best man for a place in the Nigerian
Senate. His charisma, native wisdom, nimbleness of mind and body as well as a
gift of words stand him head and shoulders above his closest rival in the
ensuing race.
All things considered, Chief Victor Umeh’s domination of his
political environment is awesome. We need a man like him in the Senate. His
shrewdness and mental alertness as well as ability to outwit his opponents in
any mind game will ensure that nothing that should come to Igboland is allowed
to go elsewhere. Umeh will not just fight for us; he is guaranteed to win for
us.
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