When in the autumn of 2021, the Chairman, Tony Amechi Foundation, TAF made inroads into the political arena using his philanthropic platform to touch the heartbeat of the downtrodden and the needy in Ndokwa nation, it seemed like bait for followership but beyond that, the dark-skinned, muscular multiple titles holder, the Aboh, Ndokwa East, Delta State-born industrialist means much more than that to his people.
First, Amechi who is referred to as a bitumen sheikh in some quarters hit Nigeria from the United States of America roaring in the field of politics through the veneer of his then darling progressives fold, the All Progressives Congress, APC in Delta State led by Chief Omni Sobotie, an old warhorse who cut his teeth in democratic politics a long time ago.. the Ajuwa of Aboh did all that was humanly possible until he later realised that the fold of the broom party in the big heart state was a wrong one for him.
Audacious and not given to cowardice, the Onwa 1 of Umusadege Utagba-Uno that he is, our intrepid Chief Amechi challenged the status quo in the APC carrying the baggage of his Ndokwa interests but Chief Sobotie’s APC won’t bulge perhaps that party leadership was too obstinate and rigid to right its wrongs and this is evident in stated reasons by former members who accused the leadership of rent-seeking attitude.
In APC, Amechi saw greed, and he saw ethnic supremacy and unhealthy rivalry. He saw extortionate tendencies. The businessman-turned-politician refused to bulge for the marauding bandwagon of deceptions and racketeering, profiteering, rent-seeking, and exploitative tendencies prevalent in the broom party.
Still bothered by his peoples’ interest at heart, several trips were made to remonstrate to the party hierarchy but it all fell on deaf ears not even his friend and the running mate to the gubernatorial candidate could listen to supplications but to them, it was every man for himself in the reckless reign of the nepotism and favouritism in the party.
With a bang, Amechi opened his vault wide for the progressives to feast on and that they did with clinical efficiency – call it looting, you are right; call it extortion, you won’t be far from the truth. The Onwa 1 of Umusadege Utagba-Uno was badly fleeced to the bone marrow by the hawks in that party and in the long run, he was frustrated out of the fold of APC leaving him with his unfulfilled dreams for his Ndokwa/Ukwani Federal Constituency.
A dogged fighter who knows his onions, Chief Amechi didn’t hesitate to beat a retreat, engaged in nocturnal meetings with the Conservative elements who assured him of a befitting position in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP fold.
Added to his promised place under the umbrella, the ruling party in the state assured that the interest of his people would be protected in the in-coming administration, and the deal was struck.
Amechi, the wizkid of Ndokwa nation and the beacon of hope for his people didn’t berth an eyelid before he landed among his soulmates at the PDP secretariat where the philanthropist is currently engaging with the high and the mighty in the state not without a promise to teach the APC a lesson at the polls.
To Amechi, the three local government areas of Ndokwa nation will be delivered enbulk to the PDP as he promises to dismantle the Sobotie-led APC structures in Ndokwa nation. True to his promise, barely a week after his defection and a carnival like reception organised in his honour by the PDP in Aboh, headquarters of Ndokwa East LGA, the Ajuwa of Aboh kingdom pulled down the stronghold of the APC taking along with him the entire executives of the broom party who resigned from the main opposition group in the state leaving the Sobotie-held broom scattered.
Amechi has promised that same development will be replicated in Ndokwa West and Ukwani Local Government Areas while beating his hands on the chest that for frustrating him out of the party he sowed, the APC has committed suicide.
From the above analysis, it is convenient to agree that Chief Amechi is moving on a high velocity capable of crushing any opposition to the victory of the Deputy governorship candidate of the PDP, Sir Monday Onyeme and his principal, Hon Sheriff Oborevwhori, at the March gubernatorial polls.
Like a loosed cannon, Ajuwa is on the prowl. Who can tame him? He is currently blazing the trail at a momentum, difficult to understand, and this is weird in the annals of party politics in the state. Never had a political personality’s defection led to the crumbling of the entire opposition structure in the state before.
Amechi’s defection is strange, it’s novel, it’s scary, it’s impactful on his party and destructive to the other, he has been able thus far to walk his talk and he, as it stands today is an emerging political force in Ndokwa nation. He is stepping into a very large shoe that only great men of strong political stature can wear. The emergence of Chief Amechi is premeditated as he worked hard to achieve his current feat.
Through his TAF, Amechi has always been there for the weak and very needy in Nigerian society. He demolishes architectural structures to build new ones for the elderly in Ndokwa nation, and many indigent students are currently enjoying scholarships from the business mogul. Since the day he was corronated as the Ajuwa, meaning: you can not question him, Ndokwa nation began a new journey in the world of pragmatic approach to politics. In Chief Amechi, there are rays of hope for Ndokwa nation being a man with the honesty and zeal to fight oppression against his people. Like a tornado, the Onwa 1 of Umusadege Utagba-Uno is waiting to explode.
Chief Amechi’s exit from the APC strikes a rare cord, drawing a map of a self annihilation on the part of the broom party, its leadership that has been accused of corruption and high handedness and its blind followers. The flying star and the touch-bearer Amechi is the emerging force that may nail the coffin of Sobotie’s party.
EKENE ANINZE, a political analyst, writes from Kwale, Delta State.
