OK, I was home on Friday, with the hope of voting on Saturday.
I am a major party stakeholder in my village. And I called a meeting to address the APC members and those rooting for the APC in my polling unit. And I was shocked! Pleasantly shocked! I was utterly shocked at the number of men and women that trooped out, and that were rearing to go. This is a community you dared not mention APC or Buhari in 2015. So much has changed in 2019. And believe me, I always laugh hard when people say that south-east is Atiku’s and PDP’s stronghold. If only they knew how much disenchanted Abians for instance are with the PDP!
On many occasions I attended meetings at home, it was always difficult for me to stifle my laugher when I sat together with those that had bantered bitterly with me in the past on the issues of APC and PMB. Let me explain; currently APC has Sen. Nkechi Nwogu and Hon. Nkeiru Onyejiocha. In the past, before their defection, I was always in tug of war with their supporters. But since their defection, their very large supporters have become more buharists than those of us that had been initiated even before 2003. Lol. Today, we all sit down together to praise PMB and drum into our people’s ears why PMB is the best thing that has happened to this nation. The two names I mentioned are only representatives of the great leaders that have all poured into APC, and made APC the party to beat in Abia.
Abia yearns seriously for change, and the man they look up to is the amiable handsome dude, Dr Uche Ogah, and Abians have resolved that to brighten Oga’s chances at the gubernatorial polls, PMB should be reelected. So, there are Abians that are madly in love with PMB and will madly stick with him, still the few who are not so inclined feel duty-bound to ensure his reelection in view of how positively it will affect the chances of Uche Ogah, Orji Kalu, Nkeiru Onyejiocha and all the other APC candidates in the election.
Meanwhile, factor again that the APGA has accepted PMB as their choice. Gov. Obiano may be the most vociferous in trumpeting for PMB, but other APGA members across the south-east are no less staunch in their support for the man who has visibly transformed their region in so short a time.
Did I mention that there would still be voters aparty in the entire south-east? There will be. Many will use the opportunity of the election and no movement order to wine and dine with friends. Bars and drinking joints would open anyhow; our people would gather to drink with their friends in their compounds, but take it to the bank, the priority for every Igbo buharist would be the election and the reelection of their hero.
Furthermore, don’t bother about the unilateral call off by our supreme leader of the election boycott….that day, our boys have already reserved it for Ofe Onugbu. Lol. They have taken months to gather their ingredients for the special soup for such great occasion. And anything that will dampen the high spirit will be highly resisted. This is even for the few that managed to get their PVCs or that refused to burn theirs following our Director’s charge.
As it is in Abia, so it is in the entire south-east. When you hear them cede the south-east to Atiku and the PDP, just say to them, “Relax first, it’s only 6 days ahead.”
*Charles Kaye Okoye, hails from Abia State but lives in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.
