"the Supreme Court, only delivered judgment, but not
justice"
BY
TONY ICHEKU
Alex
Otti
is not a quitter. When he is convinced about something, he pursues it will all
zeal. His character, so far, in the contest for the governorship of Abia state
has indeed surprised many, and even after the elections, his tenacity in
defending that mandate has also impressed.
To
some people he is just the famed economist, banker, investor, and philanthropist
that he actually is. Many assume that the right place for such a man is the
boardroom, not the tough terrain of partisan politics. But he has proved that is
he is not chicken-hearted and that his foray into politics was borne out of
deep-seated conviction that he has much to contribute in uplifting the
circumstances of Abia people. More significantly, he has proven that he can
stand up for his convictions. Many who had written him off as a political joker
have had enough in the past year to make them think differently.
Only
a few in Abia –much fewer outside –ever gave Otti a chance in the polls. And
so, when the poll result was first announced in favour of the state’s ruling
party, the expectation was that the immediate past Group Managing Director of
Diamond Bank Plc would beat his chest for trying, and thereafter retire to one
boardroom, to fight another day. Very few expected that the 51-year-old former
banker would give any fight at all, much more coming that close to prevailing
in the end.
On
Wednesday, February 3, 2016 the contest came to a finality with the Supreme
court verdict going in favour of Okezie Ikpeazu of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP). It is a decision he has since taken in his strides, just like he had
remained calm following the 31st December, 2015, judgment of the Court of
Appeal sitting in Owerri which had declared him winner of the April 11
elections in the state. For the man already priming himself for inauguration as
governor, it is indeed a hard pill to swallow, but which he must accept if his
democratic credentials are anything to reckon with.
He observed that the apex court judgments in Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Zamfara and Ebonyi, followed the same pattern which can best be described as a bandwagon effect and called for a cleansing and an overhaul of the Judiciary.
In an interview with People&Politics, Otti had said "The fact is that there were massive irregularities in three local government areas in all the elections...In the case of the governorship election, our legal team and witnesses provided incontrovertible evidence to back our claims that the PDP and its agents violated the electoral laws and why they should not be allowed to benefit from breaking the law".
He expressed disappointment that the various acts of illegality he hoped to put an end to in Abia state, would continue under the PDP administration. While he thanked Abians for support, he stated emphatically that in the Supreme Court, only delivered judgment, but not justice. According to him, “judgment, not justice was delivered". He told People&Politics that "In order to secure the future of democracy in Nigeria, the judicial system must make bold statements that leave no doubts in the minds of these professional riggers that there will be consequences for such shameful unlawful behaviors".
while stating that he was not desperate to be governor, he insisted that he would not be intimidated. "I may be desperate to liberate Abians from the deplorable situation the PDP governments have led us into, but I am not desperate to be governor... they expected to intimidate and frustrate us but we have been resilient against all imaginable odds"
To enquiries about his political future, Otti is not decided yet. While still soaking in the loss of the governor’s seat to Okezie Ikpeazu, he has for now elected to wait and see, so as not to distract the Ikpeazu administration: "but I can assure you that I will always be available and interested in improving the lot of my people".
Born
February 18, 1965, Otti has always found a place at the very top
during his education and in his career. Losing was never part of his history. While
at the University of Port Harcourt, he
distinguished himself by graduating not only as the Best Student of the Faculty
of Social Sciences but also as the Overall Best Graduating Student for that
year.
He
began his banking career in 1989 with the Nigerian International Bank, a
subsidiary of Citibank New York, where he worked in the operations department.
Thereafter he moved to the then Nigerian Intercontinental Merchant Bank Ltd. In
1992, he joined Societe Bancaire Nigeria Limited (Merchant Bankers), a
subsidiary of Banque SBA Paris where he rose to the position of a senior
manager. He moved on to the United Bank for Africa (UBA) as principal manager
overseeing the bank’s corporate banking sector for the entire South Division
with the responsibility of growing the oil and gas business for the bank.
In
May 2001, he joined First Bank of Nigeria, PLC as assistant general manager and
eventually rose to become executive director, commercial banking, then
ultimately to Diamond Bank as group managing director/ Chief executive officer
where he led the bank through a major transformation. On October 24, 2014 however,
Otti voluntary retired from the bank and plunged into politics.
But
for his resilience, doggedness and response to a vision beyond him, Dr. Alex
Otti would not have come so far in the Abia governorship contest which started
first at the polling booths and has now ended at the Supreme Court.
Otti's
steely bravado simply manifests the deep yearnings of Abians to vote for a fresh
idea and a new direction. Now it is a dream deferred. The next few years will tell
how resilient he is as a politician and leader. More importantly, all eyes will
focus on how he keys into the promise of helping to rescue Abia from years of rot,
even from the sidelines.
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