IT is quite unfortunate and pathetic that many people saw, but only few conquered. Political calculation and loyalty is one of the greatest attributes of a good politician, but this cannot be said of   Chris Akomas, the impeached Deputy Governor of Abia State.

Though he may not be a seasoned politician, but having being in the political terrain in the last three years as deputy governor was enough for him to learn especially from his former boss, Governor Theodore Orji who have treated him like a younger brother, until he started plotting to ditch him in collaboration with the enemies of government before his impeachment recently.

Failure to learn from past experiences has finally taught Akomas a bitter lesson he will not forget in a hurry. Before the bubble burst for him, he has been aligning with forces against the Abia people and Gov. Orji in particular to upstage his government possibly before the  2011 elections.

He has had differences with Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr Charles Ogbonna in the absence of his boss. Instead of waiting for his boss to come back to resolve the matter, he got police involved and raised alarm that Ogbonna wanted to kill him.

When Orji returned, he did not rebuke or scold him, rather he advised him on how to handle issues within government circle. Even when Akomas saw that the relationship between his boss and the estranged godfather, Orji Uzor Kalu was widening, he continued to eat and dine with the godfather who had assured him that he would make him governor by all means.

He joined the bandwagon and proponents of Ngwa for governor in 2011 by fire, by force.

He failed to realise that he cannot be governor without the support of his boss who controls the government machinery in the state. Well, it is good to be ambitious but very dangerous and bad to have inordinate ambition.

If not so, why on earth should Akomas openly follow Orji Uzor Kalu to PDP whereas his boss has joined APGA. Even if he didn’t want to join APGA with his boss, the wisdom demanded that he should have exercised restraint or pitch tenth with his boss, having seen that the people are happy with his boss for deciding to ditch the godfather for the good of the state.

Even in the PDP he claimed to have joined with Kalu, he was barred from participating in the state chapter stakeholders meeting that was held some days after.

It seemed that the surprise PDP leadership visit to Orji in Umuahia some days later to woo him to join PDP cleared the wool in Akomas’ eyes as he realised that he has committed political suicide.

His alleged moves to appeal to his boss to save him failed and nobody should blame Governor Orji for Akomas’ problems. Akomas has every opportunity to redeem himself but was blindfolded and deceived by the godfather who assured him that Abia Government House is an extension of his business empire and that he would continue to decide who occupies it at anytime.

Even with Akomas’s level of exposure and education, he swallowed such assurance hook, line and sinker. That exposed how myopic some of the politicians could be some times.

How could one expect Orji to trust Akomas again, even if God has come down from heaven?

Is it not the same man, it was alleged, who  when Orji was not released from the prision after the election in 2007, he aligned with the ruling PDP to choose commissioners with the hope that Orji would not be released before the swearing-in on May 29.

To his greatest disappointment and that of his hawks, Orji was granted bail before the swearing-in day; a development, Orji in his usual manner pardoned and overlooked when he assumed office, despite pressure and concrete evidence from people to have him removed.

Unlike other states where deputy governors have been impeached, the Abia case followed due process and the Governor did not push for it or spearheaded it out of desperation. He distanced himself from the process and allowed the law to take its due course.

That was why there was no crisis before and after the impeachment.
Akomas allegedly claimed that he has resigned before his impeachment and his boss denied receiving any resignation letter before his impeachment. Akomas was impeached on Monday August 2; so when did he resigned, because he has not resigned as of Friday that preceded his impeachment on Monday?

Why should Akomas wait till his impeachment before he hurriedly claimed that he has resigned? Why did he resign immediately he defected to PDP with Kalu having known that the relationship between him and his boss has broken down?

Now that he is out of government and impeached, let the godfather make him governor. It is now that his political value and clout should count for him, if he has any at all as he claimed.

Even in Abia South where he hails from, he can’t withstand the political forces there and so cannot be in a position of being supported for governorship race even in 2015 when it will be the turn of the zone to produce governor in the state.

Has he not seen that the major stakeholders in PDP in the state are already rallying around Orji to ensure that they checkmate the known overbearing influence and political intrigue of the godfather and his mother in the state since 1999.

The stakeholders have read the political barometer in the state and came to the conclusion that the greatest thing to do is to join hands with Orji irrespective of party affliation to see that the cabal did not hijack the state again in 2011.

That is why they are doing everything possible to whittle the influence of the acclaimed godfather of the state’s politics.

For Akomas, this is a development he will never stop regretting in life as he allowed a blind man to lead him to his political grave. Bye-bye to politics as you came, saw but failed to conquer. Sorry, even though you don’t deserve anybody’s pity for you are the architect of your political waterloo.

By Jude Akabundu , a  political analyst, writes from Abuja.