Martha Agba: A Winner Even In Defeat

On Monday, Governor Bassey Otu, leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River State, announced the party’s consensus chairmanship candidates for the forthcoming local government elections. In Obudu, Peter Undiandenye (Pita Pax), the candidate with the highest grassroots support emerged, beating out Martha Agba and Hon. Emmanuel Akwagiobe. While Peter is the candidate, Martha, despite not securing the ticket, has earned recognition as a heroine and winner in the eyes of many.

When Martha declared her interest in the APC ticket, many, including yours sincerely doubted her chances. However, she proved resilient, pushing forward despite being the youngest aspirant, a woman and an outsider to the CAUCUS who was to decide her fate from the local level. But her determination brought a force never seen in recent times in the Obudu LG chairmanship election and forced her name into the top. Immediately that happened, the young Martha became the talk of the town, with many people who had previously overlooked her now asking, “Who is this Martha?”

Her aspiration attracted pressure from the presidency and the National Secretariat of the party. At some point, some of us were so sure that, except for a dying minute miracle, she was going to emerge as the next Chairman of Obudu. However, the saying that it is not over until it is all over in politics played out yesterday as she missed out on the ticket narrowly when the final decision was made.

But regardless of the outcome, the level she pushed herself, especially, considering that where we come from, opportunities are always rare for youths and women, makes her the real winner of the primaries. Her loss is not a defeat but a stepping stone to greater things. Governor Otu’s own journey followed this trajectory. Having lost twice, he ultimately became governor, eight years after leaving office. Some people believe that if Otu had won the 2015 senate election, he would most likely not be where he is today because he may have been in PDP, where he would have lost the ticket. Martha, having lost twice, too, after failing to clinch the Reps ticket in 2023, may follow a similar path, with this loss paving the way for an even greater victory.

Nevertheless, she must not let this setback break her, for this loss may be the necessary path to the ultimate crown that awaits her. Let her reflect on her remarkable journey, glean valuable lessons from the experience, and, above all, hold her head high, proud of having taken on the challenge and given it her all. Her courageous spirit will inspire countless youths, both men and women, and I envision a surge of young Obudu women boldly challenging the status quo in the near future.

I encourage her not only to accept the outcome in good faith but also to demonstrate her courage further by making herself available as a valuable resource for the candidate to tap into upon his victory. Let him leverage her extensive network to secure benefits that will ultimately better Obudu as a whole. After all, the true focus should be on the collective progress of Obudu, not individual interests.

To the winner, I beseech him to look back and recall how the announcement of his name sparked excitement among many. The young people of Obudu rallied around for him, and now it’s non-negotiable that he must live up to their expectations when he assumes office. The task ahead is challenging, and the expectations are lofty. He needs to begin to roll up his sleeves now so he can get to work immediately from the first day he takes the oath of office.

Similarly, I charge him to be generous in victory. Everyone who contested against him did so because they believed in their own ability to contribute to the LG’s development, not because they questioned his competence. Although disagreements may have arisen during the struggle for the ticket, he mustn’t let those incidents define his relationship with his opponents. Instead, he should extend an olive branch, welcoming them as valuable team members and tapping into their ideas to propel Obudu forward. This advice applies not just to him, but to all chairmanship candidates of our great party, the APC.

Congratulations, Pita Pax
Congratulations, Martha Agba. Congratulations, all APC candidates. Kudos to Governor Otu, State Chairman, Barr. Alphonsus Eba, and APC leaders at all levels on the success achieved thus far.