ANAMBRA State has become the cynosure of all eyes in Nigeria and beyond. This expectedly is understandable, given the history of the State and its socio-economic and political characteristics.

Since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fixed February 6, 2010 for the Anambra State gubernatorial election, the political gladiators in the State have been having a field day, strategising and plotting how to outwit one another even among members of the same political party.

The implosion has been most visible in the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) where after the party had failed to hold its primary to elect its governorship candidate for the election due a court injunction, the statutory delegates of the party selected the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo and Senator Emma Anosike as their gubernatorial candidate and running mate respectively.

Their names were submitted to the INEC barely a few hours to midnight on the day submission of names was to close, after fruitless attempting to vacate the Anambra High Court injunction restraining the PDP from conducting its governorship primary.

But immediately after the submission of Soludo's name to the INEC, both the other PDP aspirants and opposition political parties flayed the action of the party insisting that it was unconstitutional and a violation of the rule of law and due process to which President Umaru Yar'Adua subscribes. The opposition political parties was led by Chief Okey Nwosu who is the governorship candidate of the African Development Congress (ADC).

According to him, the PDP has no gubernatorial candidate since it did not hold its primary election as stipulated in the Electoral ACT 2006. He was joined by the factional publiciity secretary of the conference of Nigeria Political parties (CNPP), Mr. Osita Okechukwu who even accused the PDP of submitting Soludo's name after the deadline for the submission of candidates' names had elapsed.

Although the spokesmen of the Commission refuted the allegation, the opposition political parties participating in the State's forthcoming governorship election have refused to yeild ground in recognizing Prof. Soludo's candidature based on the ground that he did not emerge through a primary election as provided for in the electoral Act 2006.

Political observers who wanted to dismiss the rejection of Soludo by the opposition as the ranting of those looking for an opportunity to make noise in order to be recognized, were mistaken. If their rejection of the PDP's candidate was a mere ranting the gang up of 21 other PDP aspirants and the state leader of the party, Chief Chris Uba against the emergence of Soludo was monumenal.

The group had in utter defiance of a directive from the National Working Committee (NNC) of the PDP through the South East Zonal Secretariat stopping their planned protest rally on Tuesday, October 27, went ahead to hold the rally in Awka.

Chief Chris Uba who is alleged to be sponsoring about 17 of the governorship candidates from the PDP was said to be the rallying point of the rally.

Although he was reported to have made no speeches, those aspirants and their supporters at the rally paid their homage to and poured encomunims on him, which he acknowldged with admiration.

Curiously, as the curtain for the rally was drawn the father of Prof. Soludo, Pa Simeon Soludo was kidnapped at his home in Isuofia in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State. The state police commissioner, Mr. Philemon Leha thereafter invited Chris Uba for questioning in connection with Pa Soludo's abduction. The latter denied any knowledge of the matter.

But before appearing before the police commissioner last Tuesday, Chris Uba had accused Soludo of hiding his father somewhere only to come out to cry wolf. According to him, his opposition to Soludo's candidature was based on the rule of law even as he insisted that he would continue to oppose him until he is thrown through the back door from where he came to the party to pick their gubernatorial ticket.

He did not stop there, Chris Uba alleged that he was offered $10million by Soludo to support his gubernatorial ambition which he said he rejected. But besides the accusations, those who spoke at the protest rally believed to have been spearheaded by Uba who is also a Board of Trustees (BoT) member of the PDP were unequivocal in daring the national leadership of the party to take punitive measures against them for flouting its directive.

According to them, the party could not afford to sanction 4000 members who participated in the protest rally unless it wanted to cause more division and confusion in the Anambra State chapter of the party which might result in their losing the state again to another opposition party.

However, the national leadership broke its silence last Tuesday since after the rally. The national publicity secretary of the party, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali, in a statement said punitive action, including expulsion would be taken against the 21 governorship aspirants and Chris Uba who participated in the protest rally contrary to the directive of the national leadership. He said the leadership was studying the development in Anambra state and would soon make appropriate pronouncements on Chris Uba and others who violated the party's directive.

Although, he frowned on the crisis rocking the state chapter of their party, he stressed his optimism that the party would come out stronger and more cohesive. But the question is what measures will the national leadership adopt to attain that lofty objective.

Analysts argue that internal party democracy and discipline have been the twin devils that have afflicted the ruling party over the years, especially when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was the president and Dr. Ahmadu Ali was the PDP national chairman. According to them primary elections were not only stage-managed most of the time but also those who won in credible elections had their names changed at the last minute.

That was what happened to Governor Rotimi Amaechi and Celestine Omehia in Rivers State and Senator Ifeanyi Araraume and Chief Charles Ugwu in Imo State in the 2007 governorship election. Both Araraume and Amaechi had recourse to the judiciary to right the wrong meted out to them by their party.

But if the due succeeded in getting redress via the court what happened in Anambra between 2003 and 2007, analysts contend, is nothing short of political harakiri and high level manoeuvring. That was the era when Chief Chris Uba and his elder brother, Andy held sway. The former shoved aside Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju who wanted a second term and settled on Dr. Chris Ngige to become the governor of Anambra State.

Analysts recall that Uba's script for Ngigeas a governor started to unfold barely a month after his inauguration when he was abducted from the Governor's office in Awka by the Chris Uba gang, led by Hon. Chuma Nzeribe on Uly 7, 2003. Ngige was saved by whiskers when he asked his abductors to take him to his hotel to pick a document which would be important to the gang that had already announced his resignation on the Anambra State Broadcasting Service. He succeeded in getting chairman of the party, Chief Audu Ogbeh who despatched a powerful team led by chief Olabode George,then, National vice chairman (South) to rescue Ngige and restore him to his office.

When the then president Olusegun Obasanjo invited Ngige and Chris Uba to explain what happened, the latter bluntly told Obasanjo that Ngige did not win the election, stressing, that he (Uba) rigged him into office based on certain agreements, including percentage of the allocation to be given to him and resigning from office after the election.

Unfortunately, the PDP did not invoke any sanctions against Uba for electoral malpracties, what it rather did was to expel Ngige from the party.

When Uba saw that Ngige was unperturbed, he engaged his gang to carry out massive destruction of public institutions and facilities, including the Governor's office, State Television service and secretariat of the Anambra State Independent National Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) among others.

Ngige's administration did not know peace until after thirty three months when the Appeal Court ruled in Peter Obi's favour of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) as the winner of the 2003 governorship election.

But the battle was not yet over. In 2007, Andy Uba was given the governorship ticket of the PDP and he was returned the winner, making Obi to go back to the court to be allowed to complete his four-year tenure that was truncated by an impeachment by the state legislators. He was also successful.

Now that Obi's tenure will end in March 17, Andy Uba has retuned to the Appeal Court praying to be allowed to serve out his tenure having been removed from office by the Supreme when in its judgment it said the INEC should not have conducted any governorship election in Anambra State on April 14, 2007 as the seat was not vacant.

Analysts contend that unless the party leadership barks and bites, it will not only lose the election in the state but will also undermine its much touted rule of law and due process. According to them, a situation where a few members can hold a party to ransome does not in anyway promote democracy and party cohesion. They argue the Anambra crisis should not be allowed to continue, especially now that the party's national chairman Prince Vincent Ogbulafor has been insistent on reconciliation and internal democracy.

According to them, Anambra remains a test study for the capacity of the party leadership to instill discipline and point the right path for members to follow if it will live out its self-acclaimed name of being the largest party in Africa.