By Henry Ekpe
At the death of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the living Yoruba political deity, in his condolence to the family, the then Military President of Nigeria, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) described Awo as “the issue in Nigerian politics”.
Time was when Chief Arthur Nzeribe, the Damanze and Oshiji of Oguta, was the matter in Imo politics.
Today, he is old, quiet and has virtually handed over to the younger generations.
Also at a time, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu Ahaejiagamba Ndigbo, was the clearing house of Imo politics.
As natural, today, the younger ones have taken over the direction of Imo politics.
However, among those of them who wanted to govern Imo State when the current democracy berthed since 1999, just one or two have not been fortunate enough to win the diadem.
Chief Rochas Okorocha, Senator Hope Uzodinma and Chief Achike Udenwa have all succeeded, leaving out Ambassador Greg Mbadiwe, Humphrey Anumudu and Senator Ifeanyi Araraume.
But since then the “Young Turks” have appeared on the Imo political horizon to dislodge the perpetual “old school politicians of yore”, in the contest for who governs Imo State.
The new kid on the block is Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha. Apart from these old political horses who have been around since 1999 battling for Imo governorship seat, it is only Emeka Ihedioha who has broken the jinx.
He remains the “New Face” of the new generation of Imo State who has come from “outside” of the serial Imo governorship contestants.
In the first place, Ihedioha began from “Abuja Level”, where he concentrated in the House of Representatives, and conquered all offices that were available there, upto the Speakership position of the House, after Tambuwal vacated the seat then.
So, in 2015, Emeka Ihedioha arrived in Imo State in a storm that shook the political landscape.
He joined the race for Imo governorship and picked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket.
Against all odds, Ihedioha, the youth faced the sitting Governor Rochas Okorocha in an election that could not produce a clear winner.
It was in the second election, supplementary, that Okorocha escaped by the whiskers, with the support of “superior powers from above” and incumbency factor. Senator Araraume even joined him with his followers in Imo PDP.
Okorocha was shaken to his bone marrows as he knew it was a too close shave, as he would have left office as a first term governor.
After that 2015 scare, Okorocha began to respect the young man from Aronta, Mbutu in Aboh Mbaise LGA.
In 2019, because of his consistency, fellowship and followership PDP again handed Ihedioha her governorship ticket.
This time, Okorocha was leaving office after eight years in office and he knew inside him that if Ihedioha could give him such a battle in 2015 as in incumbent governor, what of the person he would present to confront the infant terrible?
The 2019 Imo governorship election was the toughest in the annals of elections in Imo State.
In the end, Ihedioha was declared winner, but was removed from office by the Supreme Court, and the APC candidate.
Senator Hope Uzodimma, who was announced in the 4th position by INEC was later sworn-in as Imo governor. And he has now spent over two years on the seat.
Today, Emeka Ihedioha has become the discussion and discourse in Imo politics.
He is now the problem of the ruling APC in Imo State, even as the sitting governor sees Ihedioha as a nemesis waiting in a corner.
But you don’t blame both the APC and the governor for keeping close eyes on Ihedioha every day.
This was a man who lost governorship election in 2015 to a sitting governor by the narrowest of margins, and for the next four years he had no political appointment, yet his name and fame continued to rise by the day.
In our clime, four years out of power is enough to put a politician out of circulation, but not Ihedioha.
Instead, he returned again in 2019 to win a governorship election, which many in the state have tried for over two decades without success.
Since 2020, he left Imo Government House, rather than dwindle, Ihedioha’s popularity keeps soaring high. Only God knows what he preaches to his teeming followers who always remain intact in his camp, years without dispensing any patronage to any of them.
Political pundits say it shows Ihedioha’s sincerity to his supporters, rather than holding them with sweet coated stories that can expire within months.
Analysts say Ihedioha’s magic to hold his fanatic teeming followers is due to his down to earth behaviour, and personal relationship with each of them.
Ihedioha is not a saint, and no living being ever is, but those who love him are greater in number than those who hate him.
That is the most important thing going for him, since in politics, you don’t expect to please everybody, even if you give them your best live possession.
When some few months ago Ihedioha at “Egbu Declaration” spoke about his ambition in the coming months, heaven was let loose as APC and those who hate the man descended on him.
It was as if it was a crime for a politician to set his goals and make them open.
After the Egbu Declaration attack, the next was the outcome of the Imo PDP Stakeholders meeting, where it seemed no aspirant would come out to challenge Ihedioha for the PDP governorship ticket in 2024.
Now the latest is that Ihedioha was found in a Mosque praying with others. The petty story was elevated to an issue of importance by those opposed to Ihedioha and PDP.
First of all, religion is a personal thing between Individuals and God. It is only God that knows how clean our hearts are.
God does not count your religion when judging you, but how pure your heart is.
Ihedioha could decide to join Gurumaharaji, Cherubim and Seraphim, Olumba Olumba Obu. That is his business and exclusively a private affair. In India people worship trees, fowl, goats etc and it is their own business.
Those scrutinizing Ihedioha should have engaged themselves on the man’s relationship with those around him, and how good he is in human management. Was his achievements in office for seven months not a record in Imo State? Have they visited Imo LGAs lately?
Such matters like how many times he was hauled before a judge for criminal offences, how much he looted as Imo governor etc, should be their concern.
Therefore, it was pedestrian for a media employee of a government to dwell on frivolities and inanities when there are too many things facing an image maker of a government than issues that add no value to his job.
The role of those doing media jobs for a government is to engage the masses, by giving them up to date of government policies and achievements, if there is any. This is what Imo masses want now. The governor needs concentration to work out what he would point at to Imo people in the next two years as he leaves office.
It is too early for politicking and “bubuyaya” when the masses are crying for succour.
Therefore, writing about how many Churches or Mosques Ihedioha visited, how his green cap is not too greenish again, how he used left hand to open his door, how he took ice cream without using toothpick, are puerile and petty.
What such idle act does is rather heat up Imo polity, because Ihedioha has large followership, even as his media team will also reply the said government publication.
Much as APC had tried to cripple Imo PDP by poaching some of the media men the party “created”, Imo PDP is not in short supply of information managers.
However, the “Ihediohaphobia” will persist in Imo because rather than wane, the Ihedioha persona is assuming bigger frame every day. That is the issue.
* Ekpe writes from Owerri, Imo State