The recent spat between Governor Charles Soludo and the APC’s deputy governorship candidate, Iyom Uche Ekwunife, has taken Anambra politics to an all-time low. Instead of debates on insecurity, unemployment, or how to rescue a sinking economy, the headlines are filled with insults about “smelling mouths” and “needing deodorant.”
This is not politics. This is stand-up comedy at the expense of the people.
Anambra is bleeding. Almost every week, news breaks of killings, kidnappings, and violent clashes across the state. Markets are unsafe, businesses are folding, and young people are fleeing in search of security and opportunity. Yet, the political class is trading petty jabs while avoiding the real issues that should shape the November governorship election.
The sad truth is that there seems to be no serious challenger to Soludo and APGA. The APC, riddled with internal fractures, has failed to present a solid ticket that can inspire confidence. The PDP is barely alive in the state. Even the so-called powerful stakeholders billionaires, political godfathers, and religious leaders appear weak, indifferent, or simply hedging their bets on Soludo’s reelection.
What this means is that November’s election is looking more like an unopposed coronation than a democratic contest. Soludo is going back, not because he has necessarily done well, but because the opposition is unserious, divided, and reduced to trading school-yard insults.
This is dangerous. Democracy dies not just when dictators rise, but also when voters are left without credible choices. Anambra deserves better than this circus. The state deserves leaders who will tackle insecurity head-on, revive the economy, and restore hope to a people who have always prided themselves as the “Light of the Nation.”
But for now, with the way things stand, Anambra’s politics is sinking and sadly, nobody seems strong enough to rescue it.
By: Godwin Offor
