Going through the history of humanity and Nigeria, it is easy to make unmistakable concusions about the existence of human beings of different inclinations and psychological dispositions. While some people ennoble the society by their dignified presence, others simply make caricature of human beings through lives devoid of meaning. Looking across the breadth of the country, one life that captures observers of Nigerians in the nauseating mould is ‘Dr.’ Ifeanyi Ubah, the Chairman of Capital Oil and Gas.

It is not the man’s business that is bothersome; no, the oil and gas endeavour has surely produced people of character and great means amongst Nigerians and beyond. Uba’s taunted huge wealth which enquirers credit to his sojourn in the Congos and some weird dealings with the Kabilas might be celebrated by many who, though enjoying his ambition-laced liberal fingers, regard him as a wayward and profligate prince whose lust for pageantry soars boundlessly.

The first interest in the man was in 2011, when he turned 40. Conservatively, he spent about half a billion Naira in self-sponsored advertorials. One wondered if beyond celebrating turning 40, the man also discovered new demonstrations in geometry. People of substance turn 40 everyday, but none has manifested such height of imprudent wastefulness and consummate disregard for decency, not to talk of moderation. Such wanton display of epicurean inclinations mocks both the essence and beauty of affluence. Even Dangote with his near-bottomless money pool would not engage in such display for all the teas in China. It was with sympathy that the wise roundly concluded that the man did not understand what he was doing.

Since that epicurean feast, Ubah has not failed to live up to his rating as a loud drum. He is abysmally shallow in his perception of the workings of the structure of society, and so seeks to belie his inadequacies by bamboozling the gullible public through empty display of riches.

Today, the ground seems to be pulling from under Uba’s feet; no thanks to the increasing number of his creditors emerging, and the multiple cases of untoward petroleum transactions Capital Oil is laden with. In essence, Ubah might truly be some distance away from the image of the rich man he toils so much to cut. With the revelation that Ubah owes banks, other financial institutions, organisations and even persons monies in excess of N100 billion, one wonders what is left of him. Some of those he is owing heavily are: First Bank, UBA, AMCON, Access Bank, Coscharis and Uju Ifejiaka. It should be noted that the debt to the banks is public money which surely impedes the growth of the vast economy of the country. Investigations reveal that he uses intimidation to silence most of his many individual debtors of weak voices. It is bothersome that Ubah would not design a realistic strategy to redeem his debts; instead he goes about chasing shadows with a retinue of cajolers in his trail.

Ubah has however secured a momentary protection of his business interests through the High Court. This momentary victory, he celebrates with relish instead of retreating to re-strategise on an enduring solution to his ailing finances. His present display is a way of telling the public that all is well, when he knows that the contrary is the case. This is self deception at its best. Someone may need to remind Ubah that the reprieve he enjoys today does not mean freedom from his indebtedness. He should know that he is dealing with institutions and individuals whose approach to issues is both civilised and elastic. The course of the law could be slow, but the cause endures; surely.

‘Dr.’ Ubah visits his state with a convoy of more than 50 vehicles thinking that that means cleansing from all the debt hanging on his neck. It is a pity, for he does not know what he is doing. Yes, he should be pitied because some of the characters who are among his apostles simply see him as another ATM machine to be milked as long as the liquid drains from his underbelly. Chiefs Victor Umeh and Augustine Ndigwe would soon be apostates of this romance of the absurd. The game would be up soon and the pipers and their employer would go their ways definitely grudging.

But why should Ifeanyi Ubah dream of the governorship of Anambra State; a state parading the best of men and women in every plausible human endeavour? Dreams though are sure ways of dullards and paupers turning intellectuals and lords. Ubah’s dream however is too heavy for the dreamers frame: it cannot fly therefore. What has happened to him in the past should have encouraged him to stoop and reappraise the totality of his ambitious drive. Ubah should be advised to go and arrest his businesses adrift under the weight of his bogus political wild wind chase. With scathing revelations about him by the likes of Coscharis, no bank or individual will want to do business with him again. Chief Victor Umeh’s promise to deliver him as the next governor of Anambra State has so got into both heads that they see themselves as already there: a governor and his godfather. Dreams and more dreams!

No! Who knows; Ubah may have perfected a scheme to deploy Anambra State resources to service his increasing indebtedness. This could explain his defiance in the pursuit of this ambition. We sympathise with him, for Anambra number one citizen cannot be a secondary school drop-out in this age of vibrant scholarship.

Very soon, politicians will mount the hustings and give it to one another. When campaign bulletins will start flying about, Ifeanyi Ubah will be surprised that people already have his dossier x-raying him from his hawking days till date. He will be told how much he owes and how incapable he is to service his debts. He will be tutored on the character, composure and the personality deserving of a governor; and Anambra State governor at that.

Today, from the way he (mis)manages Capital Oil, we know he does not have the capacity to manage Nnewi let alone a state – not even one in the deserts. For him as the Chairman of Capital Oil to have accumulated the type of debt he owes today is evidence of financial recklessness and his belief in the Epicurean creed of “let us eat today for tomorrow we shall die.”

Ifeanyi Ubah is a living example of the crisis of morals which the country is suffering from today. The other day, Ubah donated N500 million towards the building of a Youth Centre at Otueke. The President should be protected from people like Ubah who bear very heavy weight of corruption charges.

Ubah deserves pity because the people around him are deceiving him. But for truth that has taken flight in Ubah’s camp, what impetus has Victor Umeh, desecrating the Ikemba, to assure Ubah of all people that Anambra State’s treasury is waiting to be delivered to him come March 17, 2013? What won’t the spirit of Ikemba bear in this theatre of the absurd where minors declare selves lords and supreme arbiters? The consolation is that Ndi-Anambra know their own. They know who is worth what, and who means what for them. Yes, the identities of the impostors are very obvious to the people who, having passed through the rigours of dehumanising societal abuses in the past, abhor contemplating any haphazard digression reroute the limbo.

•Onyeabor sent this piece from Enugu.

Update news