Viola Performance Resume

. Photo: Sun News Publishing

In the recent general election, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) achieved what many would consider a rare feat by winning the governorship seat in Imo State. How did it happen?
In this interview, the APGA National Chairman, Chief Victor Umeh, revealed how the plot to unseat the immediate past governor of the state, Ikedi Ohakim who ran on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was hatched.
Excerpts…

APGA’s final onslaught in Imo
I will start by giving glory to God who made it possible. One is that it is God that creates opportunities that man exploits at any given time. The last general election in Nigeria can be viewed by people from different perspectives. One was that it was generally agreed that the election was largely free and fair.

But those people who were involved in the field of the elections will note that victories were recorded at various places not entirely because the elections were set out to be free and fair but as a result of very strategic approach to the elections by those concerned. Imo State seen as a segment of that election, I will tell you that APGA won that election, but not without a very serious fight.

In 2003, APGA won the election in Imo but we were denied. In 2007, we won with a landslide margin, we were denied again. And in 2011, there was a near repeat of this, but like the Igbo people say, when something gets to the third time it will stick. A lot of factors played out in 2011 to make the victory of APGA in Imo inevitable. One was that the people of Imo were thoroughly disappointed by the government they had at the time and the governor also made a lot of mistakes that made his removal from office a matter of consensus by the people. APGA was equally lucky to have a candidate that was well known in the state and a lot of people respect him for identifying with the less privileged in society. So, he became a clear alternative to the then incumbent governor, not minding that there were other contenders.

Before that election proper, APGA had prepared itself to fight for the governorship seat and, indeed, the rest of the political seats in Imo. Before our primaries we had to make strategic preparations to ensure that we come into the election united.

Musical Assumptions: Weighing in on ViolaGate

An anonymous commenter put a comment on this post last night in order to draw attention to Brian Rosen's article about a concert Bernard Zaslav attended in San Francisco. Rosen is responsible for the term ViolaGate (whatever that means), and I imagine that he posted his second-hand report of the concert in order to get some chuckles from people who enjoy telling viola jokes, and still consider violists buffoons. Bernie is a very close friend of mine, and I feel a need to add my voice to his defense. The story, in a nutshell, is that a few friends of Bernie's were playing a concert in San Francisco. They got him tickets in the front row, knowing that the extreme vertigo he was experiencing as a result of a fall he had almost two weeks ago made it difficult for him to move around steadily. This was probably his first time out since his fall, and certainly his first concert. He came with a cane, which he stashed under his seat. The first part of the concert was interesting for him (and probably for the rest of the audience as well), and the idea of electronics presented in the advertisement for the concert did not present any high decibel worries. There were no warnings that people seated in the front rows might want to wear earplugs. Bernie probably expected electronics in the manner of Babbitt, a composer he knew very well and respects a great deal. Bernie wanted to leave, but he was unable to find his cane in the totally darkened room. He was in extreme pain from what was coming out of the speakers. Do you think, with his vertigo, he should have tried to escape caneless and risk fall again? At 85, falling is never a good thing. I suppose people who target their music to a "rock" audience don't consider that their audience might happen to have people who have a completely different experience of "new music" in the house. The person performing seemed to hear Bernie loud and clear (I guess it's because the speakers were not pointed at him). He had no reason to smash his viola (how much damage was done anyway?). Why, in this case, is an 85-year-old musical icon with mobility issues considered to be the person at fault, while a young "nomadic musician, recording artist, and music technologist" making his debut in San Francisco is gaining sympathy from the twitterings of the internet audience. Also, while the #violagate hash is on the cheeky side, my intention was to report and perhaps gain insight into what happened here. I couldn't believe what I was hearing from my friends who were there and I thought the entire event was worth some attention, if only to learn more about what happened. It was not at all intended to make fun of violists and CERTAINLY not to create a forum to lambaste Mr Zaslav. Likewise, its good for all to remember that something that just seems like a funny incident could be a tragic and hurtful experience for the people involved, and whether one is a blogger, twtterer or facebooker, in this day and age, we all ought to be compassionate and considerate of all sides, and to think about how our social media reactions affect the lives of real people.

A Spy's Resume, Confessions of a Maverick Intelligence Professional and Misadventure Capitalist

All the year round

The Instrumentalist

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