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What is amazing is how successful he is at the game, even pocketing APC’s NWC to endorse a wrong so brazen even a blind man could see.
Tony Iwuoma
The battle for the soul of Nigeria has now taken a definite shape with the conclusion of party primaries and subsequent submission of an interim list of candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
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Interim list? Yes, consciously so because the names on those confusing and confused lists can never be the will of the people.
For instance, the cliff-hanging drama in Imo State is worrisome, especially in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). So, I believe the lists submitted to INEC by the different political parties are interim, just to beat the electoral umpire’s deadline while they sort out themselves in readiness for substitution.
I am particularly concerned with Okigwe South Federal Constituency of Imo State, where the most unjust, unfair and ungodly game is playing out. The will of the people is being subverted under the very watch of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the APC. Is this no longer our comrade, defender of the weak and oppressed? I don’t agree that politics has changed the man. The only problem is that having to manage a much more devious and cantankerous brood can be really tasking but I’m sure Oshiomhole will right the wrongs.
Does it make sense to him that a governor, after running the state aground, would impose his minion pawns on the people as if the state were his personal estate? Does it make sense that the governor leaves his constituency in Orlu to go and destroy the age-long arrangement of another constituency in faraway Okigwe? Does it occur to him that APC is not the only party, as people have options? Would Oshiomhole as national chairman be content to lose the entire state just because he wants to satisfy one man?
Now, in case Oshiomhole and President Muhammadu Buhari do not know, the people are not asking them to go against their conscience but to do justice. What is playing out in Okigwe South is tradition, which was agreement that each of the three components of the constituency, Ehime Mbano, Ihitte Uboma and Obowo, would do one term. This has been so ever since. Now it is Ehime Mbano’s turn and there is no way it would be aborted. Moreover, the old Etiti, which is made up of Ihitte Uboma and Obowo, is currently holding the Senate and House of Representatives seats through Senator Benjamin Uwajumogu and Hon. Chike Okafor, respectively, leaving Ehime Mbano high and dry. Yet APC wants to allow this arrangement to continue in 2019? No way! In the spirit of fairness and equity, Etiti must give up one of the seats, which, strategically, is the House of Representatives seat.
Ehime Mbano Local Government must be allowed to produce a representative for Okigwe South, and have presented their son, Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, for the ticket. As is traditional to the people since 1999, no representative does two consecutive terms. This arrangement among brethren had been respected until Okorocha, who scattered the Imo charter of equity, decided to extend his chiefdom to Okigwe Zone.
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Of the three local governments in Okigwe South, Ehime Mbano is the most populated but has never used this advantage to destroy the arrangement duly arrived at by the leaders of the people, like Okorocha did by taking advantage of Orlu’s population to impose himself on the state.
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t beats all imagination why he would come all the way from Orlu to sow discord and crisis among brothers and why Okafor would accept to be his tool.
Nonetheless, Okigwe South, not just APC members, insist that Okorocha has no right to tell them what is good for them. They insist that Okafor should have been man enough to reject this ignoble role Okorocha assigned to him. He has all it takes to stop Okorocha from spoon-feeding him. He should be on the side of truth so that history and posterity judge him fairly.
The constituents of Okigwe South have chosen to go with Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, fondly called HCN. The real honour lies in Honourable Okafor aligning with his constituency’s decision.
The choice of Nwajiuba transcends party lines; Nwajiuba stands heads higher than all other aspirants for obvious reasons and the people believe that he would serve their interests better. It is inconceivable, therefore, that the APC NWC would throw away this great opportunity and imperil their party’s chances.
The truth is that, despite Okorocha’s glib talk, there is no way APC will win in Imo State, considering how he mismanaged the entire state, unless it soothes the seething hurt in the state, especially many party men who are already looking elsewhere, as being witnessed in the many party men that have dumped APC. There are many more intending defectors in many places across the land, where injustice and impunity reign. Supporting the current putrid enterprise of the Okorocha primaries has made matters worse. Whatever Okorocha used to manipulate APC NWC to turn a blind eye to his atrocious reign will certainly crumble. However, it is not yet late to rectify the anomalies so that the party can have a remarkable outing.
By the way, why should Okorocha, whose eyes are trained on 2023, dictate to Okigwe South who represents them? What is Okorocha’s interest in Okigwe South? Does Okafor know that, to Okorocha, he is expendable on occasion?
Someone mooted that Okorocha could be opposing Nwajiuba because of the Nsu Tiles saga. The governor had carted away the equipment procured by the late Sam Mbakwe administration for Nsu Tiles, an industry located in Ehime Mbano, while bemused, defrauded indigenes hailed him as he made vacuous promises to them. His opposition to Nwajiuba could be because he feels Nwajiuba, who hails from the community, would pursue the daylight robbery in his constituency to a logical conclusion. Unfortunately for Okorocha, Nsu people, no, Ehime Mbano and the entire Okigwe South, will be more strident in demanding for the whereabouts of the Nsu Tiles equipment when his immunity ends next year until President Buhari and Ibrahim Magu hear about it, Nwajiuba or no Nwajiuba. So, it is in his own interest to ‘#BringBackNsuTiles’!
However, why does APC condone Okorocha’s eccentricities and has not only rewarded him with an undeserved senatorial ticket but also risks losing the entire state to save the governor’s hide? Of course, they are counting on Okorocha manipulating the elections. But I doubt if this will work in the present charged Imo State.
Nevertheless, to be fair to Okorocha, he is a very innovative guy, a survivalist trying hard to save his skin. What is amazing is how successful he is at the game, even pocketing APC’s NWC to endorse a wrong so brazen even a blind man could see. This is equally a test case for Buhari’s avowed integrity, to not allow evil triumph over good.
