In Nigeria today, politics and political struggle is synonymous with mudslinging and splashing of dirty water, throwing of grease balls with intent to smear your opponents and taint them becomes a past time. That’s the reason why it is referred to as a “dirty game”. But is it truly a dirty enterprise?
However, those in it are not in a hurry to abandon it. And political practitioners and new entrants are not oblivious of what to expect. They call it murky waters, yet they are prepared to swim in it. What an irony?

Getting involved in Nigeria’s politics is like jumping in the dark, is like a death wish, it’s like a treasure hunt, a war game,a malicious and brutish enterprise where morality takes flight and anything goes.

In Nigeria today, people join and engage in partisan politics for different reasons, different motivations,and for different persuasions.
Indeed, most people are for different goals and objectives.

To some, it is to add value and improve the quality of life, fight poverty, restore due process, bring about welfare and well-being of the masses, to others it is for treasure hunt and primitive acquisition of material wealth and to the rest of the pack, it means investing in it and await for returns on investment (ROI).

However, how they get involved and engage in it, is dictated by what constitute their motivation.

For those who see politics as “war” they deploy all sorts of war gimmickry and Propaganda machinery and strategies, methodologies, and styles. Many deploy thuggery, verbal violence, vicious and malevolent attacks, libelous and fiendish approaches to achieve their aims. These are allowed and not exempted.

Those who see politics and political struggle as a sport, where a winner must emerge and the people’s welfare their goal, contends with those who see it as survival of the fittest and a “do or die” endeavour.

In Enugu State, The Peter Mba phenomenon and the “okwute”we know has come to drain the swamp and reset the agenda of Enugu’s political firmament with a blueprint of transformation in a transparent and traceable manner.

He comes with a plan, a mission and a vision of hope based on realistic and attainable means and processes. He plans to grow our economy where the Gross Domestic Product(GDP) of Enugu State is notched up to seven fold in the next eight years, from the current level of $4.4billion in 2022 to $30 billion in 2031, and to achieve a zero percent rate in the poverty head count index through government-enabled private sector development. This is in addition to a host and plethora of various other governance values and objectives which he intends to achieve if elected in the March 11th, 2023 Gubernatorial elections.

So, in view of the forgoing, and the current deluge and avalanche of non-existent “taint and smear campaigns” against the Enugu State PDP candidate by the unscrupulous propagandists flies in the face of good reason and conscience.

The axiom that “it is the tree that bears good fruits that attracts stone throwing” become imperative in this case. Also, those who apparently are faced with imminent failure in the upcoming elections now resort to engage in all manner of inanities to settle political scores.

It is a common knowledge that Dr. Mba has never been a Local Government Head, State head or has been an accounting officer in charge of a treasury in any public office in Enugu State, he was never tried or convicted by any court of competent jurisdiction or a judicial panel on account of financial malfeasance, let alone entering into any plea bargain settlement, this truism stands him a pedestal of high moral ground, and therefore completely vitiates the highly speculative, unfounded and malicious tirades of false allegations and the Swan song of “Ego ndi Enugu”mantra and jingoism by unqualified and illogical propagandists.

They however, conveniently forget the rules of defined political engagement, the peace accord signed by all political parties, they allowed petty envy and crass infantile jealousy to goad and misguide them in their nefarious acts, they abandon scruples, they reject morals and they degenerate into the abyss of nether regions of abominable infamy.

The igbo proverb which states that ” uke kpakalia uke ya n’nku, asi na okpalu nke ya na ajo ofia” becomes apt here.

Peter Mba’s Pinnacle Oil and Gas Ventures, other huge business investments succesess which he intends to replicate in all sectors in Enugu State epitomises signature performance which points to and indeed gets to the “Pinnacle” of his personal achievements and cryptic endeavour in a challenging business climate is a product of hard work, faithfulness resilience, wisdom, visionary and deep character traits which was not achieved by a sudden flight but through a tortuous journey in both public and private enterprise.

He came under a barrage of undeserved missiles during the PDP Congress and party primaries by uninformed hatchet men and he characteristically ignored them with his eyes focused on the ball. They threw tantrums and innuendos at him then and he took them in his strides.

Lately, they have continued in their fallacious hate speeches and inordinate claims and Peter Mba the man whose purpose in politics is to drain the swamp with the maggots in the political firmament and to reset the political ecosystem for effectiveness and efficiency, he has released not only his Manifesto but made a clarification on how he made and acquired his wealth ostensibly to clear their doubts, but it is always said that SATAN NEVER SLEEPS.

His broad based campaigns on issues resonates with the people and he has continued to be obsessed with the welfare of the people of Enugu State.
To that, he does not intend to relent any soon as he is too focused to be distracted by anyone. As always, he silently invests his time, energy and resources on ways and means of halting the economic and political slide in Enugu State.

The malevolent propagandists have lost out in their self imposed smear campaign against Dr. Peter Mba as the good people of Enugu State have made up their minds on the fact that “ON THE ROCK THEY STAND” and a brand new fresh air beckons.

Augustine Okolie PhD, Development & Mgt Consultant.

An Aluminus of National Institute for Policy and Strategic studies(NIPSS) Kuru-Jos.