The question has come frequently to me in the passing week: “Which of the Labour Party are you now, ZLP (Zenith Labour Party) or LP?” I know that this question must have come to many of my Labour Party faithfuls and followers of Governor Alex Otti.
The answer is simple: Otti is the party. Where he is at any time is where his followers are. Good students of political history must remember the statement of the German Chancellor and statesman, Otto Von Bismarck: “The state is the man and the man is the party”. The man refers to the leader and in this case the governor.
The leader of the government is the leader of the party in the state. The party’s ideology is represented in his policies and actions. He is the identity of the party, the light-bearer for the party faithfuls. In whatsoever direction that the light is pointed is where the faithfuls head. This theoritical assertion goes to confirm that Otti is the head of the Abia government, the head of the party and the signpost for his followers. So, for his followers, he is the party.
Every movement has a mental symbol. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu was the mental symbol of Biafra. Peter Obi is the mental symbol of the Labour Party. Otti is the mental symbol of the party in Abia State. The party is the man. The head of the government is the head of the party.
Back to the question: which party do you belong now? My answer: we belong to Otti. Have I answered your question? If not, read the book: The Politics of Cultural Pluralism by Crawford Young.
