Once upon a time in the history of our nation, coups were heralded by classical music, commonly referred to as, marshal music, followed by eagerly anticipated broadcast of a military general, announcing the change of government, after due consultations with their fellow military officers.
But Governor Okowa’s Warri coup was not in that mold of I, General Shehu Danbaba!…….it was brilliant political engineering that stunned his political opponents and adversaries.
This coup was executed right on a day APC chieftains were on parade before Mr. President at the Warri airport.
The unexpected arrival of Governor Okowa at the airport to welcome Mr. President left the APC chieftains awestricken and befuddled.
A casual observer would have thought that the APC bigwigs that lined up for the usual airport presidential handshake, were cabinet members of Governor Okowa’s government, as he seemingly was the one introducing them to Mr. President,
One could not fail to discern the moroseness in Dr. Uduaghan’s countenance who stood a few meters away whilst Governor Okowa was having tete-a-tete with Mr. President as Oshiomole allegedly took cover under the wings of the presidential jet, out of sheer embarrassment.
The two avowed men ( Uduaghan and Oshiomole) who had vowed to unseat Okowa, watched with consternation as they were classically upstaged and reduced to spectators.
The import of this show of political sophistication and statesmanship by Governor Okowa was reminiscential of the late second republic great politician, Alhaji Waziri, whose philosophy was anchored on “politics devoid of bitterness”.
It is very uncommon for an opposition Governor to welcome the president who’s visit was solely political, with the prime agenda being the defeat of the incumbent governor in a forthcoming election.
There’s no doubt that the president was greatly impressed by the gracious political maturity displayed by the governor.
It shows a man of sterling pedigree, making him stand out, as a breed apart.
There is no telling if Governor Okowa’s appearance inadvertently contributed in Mr. President concession of his candidacy to Ogboru as the new APC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, only time will tell.
*© Hon. Uche Uraih*
Public Affairs Analyst
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