His name is Athanasius, and he lives out his name, tenacious and daring.
So, when Senator Athan Nnejilenanim Achonu declared his interest to run for the governorship election in Imo State, fear gripped other contenders, including the incumbent governor, Hope Uzodinma.
This fear was not misplaced because, apart from towering over him in physique, the governor was totally dwarfed by the accomplishments and pedigree of the man whom many believed was the only person capable of extricating Imo from his vise grip.
Realising that the game may be up, Governor Hope Uzodinma went to work. He had no choice but work because he could not sleep anymore.
So, his spin masters went to town with the yarn that Achonu collected $1 million from the governor to front for him. Indeed, this was a truly damaging report and took the tenacity of brave-hearted Achonu to repudiate it.
The public realised the senselessness of buying the multi-billionaire Achonu with a paltry $1 million.
Thereafter, all manner of mines were strewn along Achonu’s path but he scaled over them all. The worst were legal orchestrations by hirelings who fought the legitimacy of his candidature up to the Supreme Court and failed.
Achonu took the state by storm. The quest to rescue Imo from needless bloodbath was a consuming passion. He knew what he was up against but believed that it was ‘athainable’. So, the people chorused Amen and trooped out en masse behind him.
He was everywhere and campaigned vigorously across the state’s 27 local government areas. His succinct message resonated well with the people. Imolites needed a change. The state has been crushed by a limp administration whose trump card was corruption in high places. There was no semblance of governance in the state, which was overlaid by decrepit infrastructure.
The roads were impassable, as gullies took over virtually all transmitting points in the state. Yet the state government made pretensions of reconstructing federal roads, which collapsed while the job was still ongoing. Workers and pensioners were owed several months of wages. Some had even been designated as ghosts by an unfeeling government intent on dodging paying them and its responsibilities to the people.
The local governments were bereft and mournful. The state government seized their allocations and is yet to account for how they were spent.
So, when Achonu came with the promise of local government autonomy and free and fair council elections, the people were expectant. Imolites trooped out to hear him address them at his campaign rallies.
Not done, Achonu marshalled out his plans for the state. He planned to establish industrial parks and agro-allied hubs across the three senatorial zones and 27 councils. He had plans to make the Sam Mbakwe Airport in the state a cargo hub in West Africa.
Achonu, who was known as an ideas distillery, was brimful with very many beautiful dreams for the state.
While Uzodinma sold spurious hopes for phantom jobs for 4,000 Imo youths at the United Nations and Canadian companies, Achonu was on the ground with realistic promises. While Uzodinma bo-boed the people with bringing Qatari investors to establish gas-related industries, Achonu already had running templates that his opponent gratuitously tried to caricature.
However, the truth was that Uzodinma was not making any headway against his main contender. Therefore, he went into his closet and fished out the most vicious heist ever in the annals of elections in Imo. It seemed to have worked.
What happened in the state on November 11 was very appalling. It was a shameless and brazen display of impunity that could only happen in primitive climes. There was massive vote buying, ballot box snatching and falsification.
Sadly, all these were perpetrated in full public glare with the active participation of compromised security operatives. Even the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, that many hoped would use the off-cycle election to redeem itself after the February presidential election debacle, played along. They even introduced an illegal ‘cluster’ voting.
At the end of the day, Uzodinma was declared as re-elected.
Though the announcement is going to face legal challenge, many are skeptical of the courts. Nevertheless, it is worth exploring but however it goes, the prayer is that all those who supported Uzodinma in whatever way should not escape the harvest of its aftermath, good or bad.
All over the state, the story is the same. The riggers were even so amateurish they couldn’t cover their tracks, perhaps buoyed by the hope that going to court in Nigeria meant nothing. We shall see.
For instance, in over 2,000 polling units results as uploaded and seen in the IREV, the total number of votes allocated to candidates were higher than the actual number of accredited voters, which in all totality justifies doubts about the integrity of the election.
Strangely, the governor and his bootlickers are allegedly spreading fake news purporting that his opponents had paid him a congratulatory visit.
This is nothing but a script from the pit of hell and could only be the handwork of evil minds, which this government is well known for.
For the avoidance of doubt, Senator Achonu had since categorically rejected the result declared by the INEC. He aptly described the sham as an attack on democracy in the country.
It is inconceivable, therefore, that they could be part of a congratulatory visit to Uzodinma, a wishful thinking that can never happen.
However, Achonu had urged the people to discountenance the purported congratulatory visit to Uzodinma, as he heads to court.
Whereas many people, including Yours Truly, doubt the readiness of the courts to do justice, especially considering the horrific occurrence in the Kano gubernatorial election at the Appeal Court, Achonu stated that he still has faith in the country’s judiciary and announced that he is proceeding to court to challenge the spurious result.
This stance is the hallmark of a statesman who believes in due process. It is quite unlike the thugs in power who believe they must force their leadership on a people.
Achonu stands tall and many testify to his humaneness, and wept when INEC announced its so-called results. He is known to have provided succour to many deprived individuals.
Hundreds of Imolites are feeding directly or indirectly through his benevolence. His Numo Farms has employed several people. Many students are on his scholarship. He has also taken care of the medical bills of many, locally and internationally.
Interestingly, some of those he sponsored heart or kidney treatments abroad joined hands with his opponents to bite the finger that fed them.
Achonu is not bothered because he is much at home with the divine maxim that whatever you do for your fellow man is a deed unto the Lord.
This election may just be a temporary setback but Athanasius is tenacious. He overcame a childhood tragedy that cost him one arm during the Biafran war to rise to his enviable height today.
The heart is still there; that is why he is called Agu, the lion. As we all know, Agu retreats but returns with much more ferocity and when he does, territories are won. So, watch it, Agu is not done yet.
Nevertheless, this piece is a salute to courage. Kudos to the man who dared and shook up the table. The result may have been different from the expectations but the people know who their real governor is. As for this one, he is a placeholder, and soon, truth shall be vindicated.