Citizen Ikenna Samuelson Iwuoha
Roughly Two Months Ago, I Made A Bold Intervention On The Forth Coming Governorship Election In Imo Under The Caption “2023/24 IMO GOVERNORSHIP : OWERRI ZONE SENTIMENTS AGAINST ORLU ZONE”. I Had Expected The Political Gladiators In Owerri Zone To See Or Read Through My Observations As Honestly Stated In The Said Article, But Unfortunately, They Chose To Make Their Aspiration To Become Governor, Especially Through The People’s Democratic Party, PDP, A Do Or Die Affair, Thereby Exposing Their Insatiable Appetite For Greed, Clannishness And Self-centeredness, While Neglecting The Two Other Zones Of Okigwe And Orlu In The Equation.
Politics Is Local, And It Is Played By Those Who Practically Understand It. For Me, Despite The Fact That I Am A Sociopolitical Crusader, I Am Grounded In The Political Mathematics Of Imo State And South East, And Can Effortlessly Change “Certain Political Equations”, For The Benefit Of The Common Man On The Street. I Am Therefore Seriously Warning PDP Political Operatives And Agitators From Owerri Zone To Watch Their Lips, Actions And Inactions, As We Navigate Through The System. Their Open Threat In The State Is Becoming Unbearable, And Will No Longer Be Tolerated.
I Had Stated In The Said Article,……..”Naturally, People Are Bound To Feel Pity For Ndi Owerri Zone, Especially, Their Helplessness In The Governorship Equation Of The State. But Then, Power Is Not Given On A Platter. It Is Taken. Nevertheless, Political Leaders From Owerri Zone Have Lately Been Spreading The “Nmanu Akara Di Uto, Onye Raatu Ibe Ya Araatu” Philosophy, Without Actually Thinking Deeply About Its Content Meaning. According To These Political Leaders From Owerri Zone, The Only Thing That Would Sustain The Unity Of Our State, Imo, Is When Men Of Honour And Conscience Across The Three Zones Come Together To Support Owerri Zone To Govern The State, With A View To Correcting The Perceived Political Imbalance By Upholding The Doctrine Of “Equity, Fairness And Justice”. Unquote.
Nevertheless, It Should Be Observed That Political Offices Are Shared In PDP On The Bases Of Zones, And This Understanding Has Been In Practice Since 1999. Unfortunately, Owerri Zone Is Threatening ( Through Its Body Language) To Scuttle This Arrangement. I Say This Because Owerri Zone Is Currently Holding And Occupying The Position Of National Secretary Of PDP, Through Distinguished Senator Samdaddy Anyanwu (Who Is Currently The Leader Of PDP In Imo State). This Is A Very Powerful Position. It Is Therefore Morally Wrong And Unethical For Owerri Zone To Still Insist On Taking The Governorship Candidacy Of PDP, In Addition To The National Secretary Position It Is Holding. In The Spirit Of Nmanu Akara Di Uto, Onye Raatu Ibe Ya Araatu Philosophy, The Governorship Candidacy Of PDP In Imo State, Come 2023/24, Should Either Go To Okigwe Zone Or To Orlu Zone……….. This Is Simple Logic. I Have Nothing Whatsoever Against The People Of Owerri Zone.
If Owerri Zone Is Allowed To Produce The Governorship Candidate In PDP, While Still Holding The National Secretary Of The Party, Definitely, Orlu And Okigwe Zones Would Feel Marginalized, And Will Naturally Fight Back. Therefore, Since Owerri Zone Has First Chosen The National Secretary Position In PDP Over And Above That Of Governorship Candidacy, Orlu Or Okigwe Zone Should Be Allowed To Slug It Out In The Governorship Primaries.
Again, A Political Agitator From Owerri Zone Was The Governorship Candidate Of PDP, In 2015, Amidst Allegations Of Manipulation And Unfair-Underhand Practice. In 2019, The Same Political Agitator From Owerri Zone Was The Governorship Candidate Of The Same PDP, Amidst Allegations Of Manipulation And Unfair-Underhand Practice. As 2023/24 Draws Closer, The Same Political Agitator Has Positioned Himself To Emerge The Governorship Candidate Of The Same Political Party, PDP………. I Ask Again, What Is Equity Fairness And Justice Here If The Same Political Agitator Has Continued To Emerge Governorship Candidate Of A Political Party For A Zone That Has Reportedly Continued To Cry Of/For Equity, Fairness And Justice? Conversely, In The Spirit Of “Nmanu Akara Di Uto, Onye Raatu Ibe Ya Araatu Philosophy, Owerri Zone Should Show Maturity And Leadership By Ensuring That Another Of Its Son Emerge The Governorship Candidate Of The PDP Rather Than The Noted Political Agitator, Otherwise, The Zone (Owerri) Would Not Be Taken Seriously In Its Agitation For Power Shift. This Can Only Be Allowed To Happen On The Condition That The National Secretary Of PDP Resigns His Position. This Is The Reality On Ground.
Another Reality On Ground Is That PDP Has Produced Elected Governors From The Three Zones Of The State, Through Dr Achike Udenwa Of Orlu Zone, Dr Ikedi Ohakim Of Okigwe Zone And Rt Honourable Emeka Ihedioha Of Owerri Zone, Respectively. Therefore, If PDP Should Be Very Sincere In Its Principle Of Zoning, Orlu Zone Should Now Produce The Candidacy Of The Party. But, If Owerri Zone Argues That Orlu Zone Has Taken Its Statutory Two Tenured Position, Then, Okigwe Zone Should Be Allowed To Fly The Flag Of The Party, In Order To Complete Its Two Terms, Which Was Scuttled In 2011. Conversely, Either Way, Owerri Zone Has No Gubernatorial Stake In PDP Come 2023/24. This Logic And Argument Has Become Necessary So As To Prove To The People Of Owerri Zone In PDP, Who Have Been Threatening Fire And Brime Stone, To See The Foolishness Of Their Sponsored Agitation Over The 2023/24 Governorship Election In Imo State. I Stand To Be Challenged.
At This Point, Let Me State Equivocally That Orlu Zone Has Not In Anyway Been Greedy Or Selfish In The Power Distribution Equation In Imo State. Rather, The Zone Has Always Applied “Rationality Calculus” (Both Integrally And Differentially) Strategy In Its Bid To Take Power, With The Cooperation And Consent Of The Two Other Zones (Okigwe And Owerri). This Is Legitimate Politicking. This Is At Variance To What Happened Within The Short Period That A Known Political Agitator From Owerri Zone Held Power As Governor In The State. Within The Almost Eight Months He Was Governor, We All Witnessed How His Leadership Was “Micro-Zoned” To A Particular Section Of Owerri Zone, To The Economic And Sociopolitical Detriment Of The Entire Zone And State. His Leadership Became “Elitist”, Abandoning The Youths Who Campaigned And Worked For Him, While Recognizing Only Children Of The Elites Who Neither Campaigned Nor Voted For Him. This Left-handed Style Of Leadership Continued Until Supreme Court Aborted That Administration In January 2020.
The Point I Am Responsibly Making Is That Zoning Breeds Mediocrity And Clannishness When Allowed To Take Root In A Given System. Those Clamouring Or Agitating For Zoning Are Primarily Political Hawks And Buccaneers With Insatiable Appetite For Greed, Clannishness And “Self-centeredness”. I Stand To Be Corrected.
There Is A Governor In The State, And He Is Constitutionally Empowered To Go For Another Term Come 2023/24. Let Us Therefore Not Allow Sentiments And Agitations For Power Shift To Blindfold Us Of This Very Fact.
If Imo State Must Move Forward, Politically, Economically And Socially, There Is Therefore The Need To Begin Aggressive, Comprehensive And Very Enriching Appraisals On How To Demonstrate Transparent And Accountable Leadership In Governance For The People Of The State, In Truth And In Spirit. This Is What Servant-Leadership Is All About. I Have Written A lot On Transparent Leadership Management, And It Can Goggled On The Internet.
Having Come This Far, Let Me Conclude That Imo State Come 2023/24 Needs A Leader That Will Take The Entire State As His Constituency And Provide Developmental Leadership With Verifiable Dividends Of Democracy, And Not A Clannish Power Hungry Superstar And Political Acrobat Who Is Currently Hiding Under Zonal Sentiments To Threaten The Whole State.
