The Macabre Of Her Excellencies

By Fortune Archibong

The combination of comedy and tragedy known as comic-tragedy appears as the best description of the unfortunate, despicable, horror and show of shame at the inauguration of the new governor of Anambra State and former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, in Awka.The scuffle between the wife of the immediate-past Governor of Anambra State, Her Excellency, Mrs. Ebelechukwu Obiano and former Miss Nigeria and wife of the late Biafran warlord, Her Excellency, Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu, is one of the latest developments in the Nigerian media space.  

Reports have indicated that the late coming wife of former Governor Willlie Obiano, Ebele, interrogated, assaulted Lady Bianca who was already seated at the august Anambra event for attending the last official outing of her husband as Anambragovernor. Madam Obiano was said to have accused Bianca ofattending an event that has to do with the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) she earlier vowed never to attend. The open rebuke of Bianca resulted in a hot slap on the face of Mrs. Obiano said to have been stanched with whiskey spirit by Bianca who took to further self-defence to stop a full blown fight that Mrs Ebele Obiano had prepared for. 

Deluge of condemnations has trailed the despicable picture painted by the two powerful Anambra women at the inauguration of Governor Charles Soludo, a gentleman, an academic and one who had answered and acted as the monetary governor of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, prior to the Anambra governorship elevation. Much as the scuffle caused a serious disruption to the solemn event, it was a bad sign to the Anambra polity, a state too lucky to survive the sweeping domination of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC). Peoples Democratic Party had earlier ruled the state with the like of Governor Mbadinugu, the popular “Odera”. 

Anambra women may have to summon the duo of Bianca and Ebelechukwu for denting the image of prominent Anambrawomen such as the late Professor Dora Akunyili, the World Bank and international finance doyen, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and others for the “naked dance” at an event as auspicious as the inauguration of a new governor. In fact, for a state known for the popular “August meeting”, where Anambra women from all walks of life gather in solidarity, the year 2022 series of August meeting may need to have an emergency version in April to deal with the urgent fracas between Obiano’s wife, Ebelechukwu and Ojukwu’s widow, Bianca, to save the state from the defilement cause by the open fight of her excellencies.

A closer analysis of the ugly situation would reveal the following facts especially as I do not intend to apportion blame on any of the former first ladies: Obiano’s wife arrived the venue of the inauguration late when the husband had earlier arrived to perform the handing over formalities to his successor, Professor Charles Soludo. Protocol demands that the governor and the wife should have arrived the venue of the event together being their last official event as the Excellencies of Anambra State. Only God knows what kept Ebelechukwu in the house and it could be suspected that the fight had earlier broken out in their bedroom and the governor only scampered to the venue of the inauguration to meet protocol exigencies. It appeared that Ebelechukwu’s ill-conduct was more of an extension ofaggression from home and only met a fertile ground to unleash it upon her rival and arch-enemy, Bianca Ojukwu, who had earlier arrived the venue to preserve the labour of the heroes past, the labour of her late husband, Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu, who formed the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). 

Unleashing insults, queries on Bianca Ojukwu for attending the inauguration of Professor Soludo by Obiano’s wife was uncalled for, an unmerited assault on an innocent invitee who has all the right and privileges to attend the event as an Anambastakeholder. The slap of Mrs. Obiano by Bianca Ojukwu could be considered as self-defence as no one knew if Madam Obianowould have launched the heel of her delectable shoes on Bianca’s skull! It appeared to have been a matter of who struck first and no sane wife of a general, warlord and late Ikemba of Nnewiwould have played a second fiddle. 

The Anambra confusion was also a clear case of power drunkenness on the part of Obiano’s wife on her half-day in office as the incumbent governor’s wife. It was a desperate move of an opportunist whose taste of glory, power and good money happened while in government. A deeper scrutiny of the antecedents of the duo would reveal who towers on the social ladder above the other. While Bianca is the daughter of a former governor, the late C. C. Onoh, who had been exposed to the luxuries of life as a governor’s daughter, she had tasted affluence, glory and honour as a former Miss Nigeria and married to a man who could be described as a first class Igbo man, king of the Biafrans, first graduate of the Nigerian Army whose father was at a period the richest man in Igbo-land, the founder of the All Progressives Grand Alliance on whose platform former Governor Willie Obiano rode to power. 

Unfortunately, Ebelechukwu is a daughter of an unknown man who luckily got married to Bro. Willie who used to work at Fidelity Bank from where ex-Governor Peter Obi appointed as a commissioner and paved way to become Anambra governor. Keeping Ebelechukwu and Bianca side by side, Obiano’s wife has committed a sacrilege, displayed the worst affront and ultimately bitten a heavier finger which fed their family by assaulting her at a public function as auspicious as the inauguration of a new Anambra governor. Bianca had witnessed and enjoyed for several years the pecks of power when her mother stood side by side with Pa Onoh in Enugu of old for inauguration as governor, countless escapades with her late husband, Ojukwu and political appointment as presidential adviser.

For most men who cannot tame their wives and who may have eaten “weird waterleaf” prepared by wives gifted with “jazz”, former Governor Obiano is the cynosure and chief culprit of the despicable acts at the inauguration of Professor Soludo, for housing a combatant for a wife. He should have ensured the security details in his convoy bundled the combatant wife into his protocol vehicle, notwithstanding their domestic issues and whiskey spree in their home on their last day in office to save the distasteful behaviour of his wife at the public event. No oneassaults the wife of an Ikemba of Nnewi without the anger of the gods. The gods are not happy with Obianos, who are reported to have been trailed to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after the inauguration event in Awka. They are said to have been moved from Lagos to Abuja by the operatives of EFCC to probably account for their tenure and should the court of the gods invite them also, which is very certain, the Obianos are in for more troubles. 

Meanwhile, several Igbo groups have condemned the despicable act of Mrs. Ebelechukwu Obiano and have placed several sanctions such as banishment from Igbo-land should she fail to openly or publicly apologize for her show of shame. Eve did it but Adam payed for it, Jezebel misbehaved and Ahab burnt his fingers and only God would save men from some of our wives!

Archibong is of the Nigerian Guild of Editors.